Mumbai: The 1.1-kilometre-long Sion flyover will remain open for light vehicles even though the repair will begin from Saturday (April 20). The Maharashtra State Road and Development Corporation (MSRDC) has retracted from its earlier statement of shutting the flyover for maintennce for two months starting Saturday.
Commenting on the issue, the MSRDC official said, “The appointed contractor will start the repair work arrangements, like installing alternative support pillars from April 20.
So, there is no need to close the flyover completely. Light vehicles will continue to ply until the girder lifting begins.” Notably, the MSRDC announced the Sion flyover’s maintenance after the Himalaya bridge collapse that claimed six lives.
The Sion flyover’s structural audit was conducted by the Indian Institute of Bombay (IIT-B) in 2018 after the Andheri Gokhale bridge collapse, but the work could not begin even after a year passed due to the new bearings designs that could take 25 per cent additional load and the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the traffic department. In addition, a concrete slab of the flyover had also collapsed last month.
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