Mumbai: To avoid heavy vehicles from crashing on the newly installed height barricade at Byculla’s Gloria Bridge, local traffic police have deployed at least six traffic personnel and wardens on the spot. A crucial connector for South Mumbai commuters, the Gloria Bridge which was earlier planned to be demolished given its unsafe structure cited by IIT Bombay during a structural audit, now is said to undergo only ‘major repair’ work by the civic body.
Amid this repair work, heavy vehicles above 9 feet won’t be allowed at the Gloria Bridge. For the time being, i.e., till June 30, these heavy vehicles coming from Dr BA Road - southbound - will be diverted to Slip Road towards Saint Sawanta Junction and Seth Motishah Junction, said the notification issued by Pradnya Jedge, DCP (south), Traffic.
On Monday, it was the first day for Gloria Bridge with the installed height barricades, which motorists were unaware of, especially the ones who are banned from entering - the heavy vehicles, including tempos, trucks, trailers, etc. Given the lack of knowledge, several trucks and tempos paced towards the bridge, but were not allowed to enter through.
When the Free Press Journal visited the spot, tempos and trucks were seen halted at the entry point, thereby blocking other vehicles from moving ahead - which led to a traffic pile-up to an extent.
“It happened that way on Monday because motorists were unaware of the new instructions. It may take a week or so for them all to know about this, and hence, for the time being, we have deployed six traffic personnel and wardens to help commuters and heavy vehicle drivers navigate through the new diversion,” said an official from the Byculla Traffic Division.
Before the installation of height barricades, Mumbai Traffic Police had asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide traffic wardens. “They provided us with 10 traffic wardens who we trained to handle the traffic situation. We are sure that things will get better gradually,” added the official.
Mumbai Traffic police officials had previously suggested the civic body construct an overhead bridge before they demolish the Gloria bridge as then the traffic would be diverted to the former bridge - which they believed would not affect the traffic movement.
Despite repeated proposals for closing down traffic at Gloria Bridge for demolition or repair work, it was rejected by the traffic police. “There is no substitute or diversion we have in the place of Gloria bridge, the amount of chaos it will result cannot be inconceivable. Even closing for regular vehicles is dangerous,” added a senior traffic official.
Despite all of these, the reason why BMC officials are pinned upon conducting urgent repair work by closing down the traffic is the extremely unsafe condition of the Gloria Bridge. From damaged cement railings on both sides of the bridge to pothole-ridden roads - that threatens motorists' safety, especially during rainy seasons.
The temporary filling in these potholes often disintegrates as vehicles pass over them, exacerbating the problem. At some points, the expansion joints on the bridge create a bumper that could be fatal for motorists.
In the repair work, BMC informed the traffic police about the work they needed to undergo at the bridge. It included demolishing the existing dilapidated railing to redo it with a new barrier. The underneath of the bridge will go through major repair work, said officials.
On Day 2, Tuesday, traffic police said the situation was 30 per cent better than that on Monday. “However, schools and colleges have exams going on, and several companies have holiday seasons, hence the incoming traffic is less than usual. It increases in the morning and late afternoon - which are the peak hours - but we will keep an eye as more traffic starts approaching the bridge in the coming days. The only relief is that the repair work is said to be finished by June end,” the official added.
With inputs from Rucha Kanolkar
