Mumbai: Demolition of the Carnac bridge has enabled railway authorities to carry out track lifting in the Masjid area, which is considered one of the most low-lying areas along Central Railway's (CR) suburban section.
According to a senior officer, the tracks can now be lifted by at least 12 inches as per the gradient of the section. CR is considering lifting the track up to six inches in the first phase, before the onset of the monsoons next year.
Meanwhile, the demolition of Carnac Bridge was completed successfully before the set deadline. A workforce of around 400 – including 60 experienced steel cutters from shipyards – brought down the more than 150-year-old structure in just 12 hours and 15 minutes.
“CR has set an example of teamwork and engineering excellence. The reconstruction of this bridge will certainly tackle major constraints in raising the track levels at Masjid yard to prevent the waterlogging and traffic disruptions during the monsoons,” former railway board member, Subodh Jain said.
According to a CR official, cutting of the steel structures began at 1am and was completed around 12 hours later, by 1.15pm on Sunday. “Within 12 hours and 15 minutes over 500tonnes of steel was removed after being cut into 44 pieces,” the official said, adding that accurate planning and perfect execution lead to completion of the work before time.
The official further stated that as per the initial plan, only two cranes were to be used for lifting cut pieces of the old bridge while two additional cranes were on standby, for emergency use. “However, we created some extra space and used all four cranes for lifting. Even extra lifting belts had been arranged for,” said the official.
Railway officials have given due credit for the success of the mission to 60 skilled steel cutters who were roped in to cut the steal girders. These labourers, with expertise in cutting huge pieces of steel, were brought in from shipyards. A total of 40 cutting machines were put to continuous use, manned by one steel cutter and one helper, while 20 labourers were kept on standby with their helpers for the rotation of duty. Additionally, 20 steel-cutting machines were also kept on standby.
