Mumbai: The Sion flyover will be shut for four days from February 27 to March 2 as the second phase of repairs will be undertaken by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The repairs, scheduled from Thursday evening to next Tuesday morning, would eventually result in traffic snarls and congestion on weekdays. With the ongoing HSC exams, students commuting to their centres in the eastern suburbs will be the most hit, besides office-goers and motorists.
“The second phase of repairs of the Sion flyover, which connects the Eastern Express Highway (EEH), was to be carried out from February 20-24. But as the first phase was delayed by a day, the second one was postponed. This phase is scheduled to start at 6pm on Thursday and traffic will be allowed to resume at 7am on March 2,” an MSRDC official said. The repair process, which has been divided into eight phases, will render the flyover shut to replace its 170 bearings and expansion joints. The first phase of repairs was supposed to be carried out from February 14 (Friday) 5am to February 17 (Monday) 5am. However, as the crucial repairs in the first block was incomplete, it was extended by a day, which overshot the scheduled time.
Closure of the flyover in the first phase of repairs resulted in a bottleneck traffic congestion on the south-bound roads, towards Dadar from Thane, on the flyover on all five days. To avoid a traffic congestion this time, the Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP) has deployed extra force on EEH.
A standard 12 student, Harshali Bhagde, 18, a Chembur resident, who is appearing for her HSC examinations at SIES College in Sion said, “Last week during the flyover repairs, I managed to reach the exam centre hardly five minutes before the exams began. But this time, I won’t take any chances and leave home an hour early and wait at the exam hall.”
“Barricades and traffic policemen will be deployed to help people with diversions. Last week, despite prior intimation given to motorists, there was a bottleneck traffic. However, we hope that motorists take the alternative roads and avoid getting stuck in congestion,” a senior traffic official said.
The repair work was undertaken after the findings of a structural audit by the Indian Institute of Technology had revealed that the pillars of the Sion flyover had become weak and needed immediate attention. Moreover, after the entire process of repairs, which is changing the bearings and expansion joints, is completed by mid-April, the flyover will be shut for at least two weeks to resurface it with concrete, an MSRDC official said.
