Mumbai: The Himalaya Bridge work at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is in full swing and its girders have reached the construction site. The BMC’s Bridges Department is waiting for a No-Objection Certificate from the traffic police to launch them. The bridge is scheduled to open to the public on February 15.
The permission from the traffic police was pending owing to the G20 Summit meetings organised in Mumbai. BMC officials said they will be able to meet the deadline if the traffic police grants permission in the next two to three days.
Officials said five girders weighing 120 tonnes are on the site. Each girder is 35.211metre. They are of high quality metal that doesn’t rust and can sustain for 100 years.
Commonly known as Kasab bridge (as Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab passed through it during the 26/11 attack to enter Cama Hospital), the bridge collapsed on March 14, 2019, killing seven people. After the incident, the BMC undertook a structural audit of all the bridges, flyovers and skywalks in Mumbai. The civic body repaired a few bridges and some of them are being demolished for reconstruction.
At the Himalaya Bridge site, pillars have been constructed on both the sides, and girders will be installed in the next few days. The BMC will spend Rs7 crore on the structure.
To launch the girders, the BMC will need traffic blocks for a few hours for some nights. The launch will be followed by surfacing work. The finishing work of the bridge will continue after it’s opened to the public. The civic body will also install escalators for senior citizens, women, children and disabled persons.
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