On the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, the BMC successfully launched the first open web girder for the under-construction Vidyavihar railway over bridge (ROB). Weighing 1,100 tonnes and measuring 99.34-metre-long and 9.5-metre-wide, the heavy-duty girder was installed in just three hours, starting from 1.20am. It has also broken the record of Kalyan's Patripul bridge which had the longest girder of 76.67metres.
Feat achieved by joint efforts of Railway and BMC
The feat was achieved by the engineering team of BMC's bridge department and railway officials who jointly worked for the girder's launch. Member of Parliament Manoj Kotak was also present.
“The girder was launched through a winch pulling method. Initially, it was shifted from east to west, midway over the railway tracks. In the next 2-3 days, it will be shifted to the north and positioned (as per the alignment). Also, the work of launching the second girder will be taken up soon,” said an official of the bridge department. In the second phase of the project, the BMC will undertake the construction of a 17.5-metre-long approach road on the east-west side.
Bridge to provide seamless east-west connectivity
The BMC is constructing the bridge across the railway track at the Vidyavihar railway station, connecting the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Ramkrishna Chemburkar Marg. The bridge is 480-metre-long; of which 223 metres will come up on the railway land above the tracks. Running parallel to the bridge, footpaths will be built along the RN Gandhi School on the east side to the Ramdev Peer Marg on the west side.
Being built at a cost of Rs178 crore, the two-lane ROB will provide seamless east-west connectivity hence reducing the burden on the existing ROBs at Ghatkopar and the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. The bridge is expected to be completed by December 2024.
Besides the constraint of power blocks by railway, the roadblocks include widening of stormwater drains and a major nullah, shifting of ticket booking offices on both sides, clearing encroachments coming in the ROB's way.
Important features
Total no. of girders: 2
Width: 9.5 metres
Length: 100 metres
Weight: 1,100 metric tonnes
Project cost: Rs178 crore
