Thane: The MMRDA and Thane Municipal corporation on Saturday opened two additional lanes of Kopri Rail Over Bridge (ROB) for motorists. The project was inaugurated by the hands of guardian minister Eknath Shinde. He said work on all the eight lanes would be complete within a year and set open for the public.
Authorities claim the opening of the flyover will help the motorist from Thane and Mulund, as it will help motorists traveling towards Nashik and Gujarat with an easy commute.
In 1958, the Kopri flyover bridge over the railway tracks was built by the public work department to connect Mulund from Thane. “Years after being built, the flyover started getting weak and was declared as dangerous. Further demand to make a new flyover came in by locals. Many follow-ups were made to prepare a new bridge. However, On April 24, 2018, work for the new flyover bridge started and within three years and six months, the bridge was set to open for the motorist,” said an official.
The Kopri bridge on the eastern express highway is around 796 meters in length and 65 meters in width. It is around 6,525 meters in height from the railway tracks. The bridge had around 37.4 meters width on both sides.
“The complete road will be developed into an eight-lane flyover in the coming year. At present two lanes on either side of the bridge are set to open for motorists. Further, with the help of MMRDA and the central railway, we will start to work on the old bridge. Within a year we will set the bridge to be usable for the motorist,” said Eknath Shinde, the PWD minister during the inauguration.
Shinde further added that he along with a member of parliament Rajan Vichare had visited Palghar and saw the girders for the development. Also, the girders are brought to Thane and kept safe by the firm. “So within a year the work of the four lanes will be complete, making it free to use for the public and motorists,” added Shinde.