Mumbai: Bridges built on nullahs declared unsafe in re-audit

  • | Sunday | 9th June, 2019

The city bridges include foot overbridges (FOB), road overbridges (flyovers), rail overbridges, skywalks and bridges over nullahs or river. The audit of all the 344 bridges in the city before the Himalaya Bridge collapse, found 14 bridges in dangerous state, out of which only three were FOBs and others are bridges built over the nullahs. In the re-audit conducted after the Himalaya Bridge incident, the consultant found 15 more bridges in dilapidated condition. Though the BMC has found most of the nullahs bridge in dangerous state, there isn't any separate policy to inspect them more frequently. Re-AuditIn the re-audit conducted after the Himalaya Bridge incident, the consultant found 15 more bridges in dilapidated condition.

About 29 bridges in the city have been declared unsafe in the audit and re-audit conducted recently. Interestingly, 26 of these bridges are built on nullahs and rivers. The constant flow of saline water and chemicals are the reason cited behind the corrosion of iron frames used in bridges. The irregular and poor mechanism of inspection has further fuelled the issue. The city bridges include foot overbridges (FOB), road overbridges (flyovers), rail overbridges, skywalks and bridges over nullahs or river. The audit of all the 344 bridges in the city before the Himalaya Bridge collapse, found 14 bridges in dangerous state, out of which only three were FOBs and others are bridges built over the nullahs. In the re-audit conducted after the Himalaya Bridge incident, the consultant found 15 more bridges in dilapidated condition. All these are built on the nullahs and rivers. The bridges include Ghatkopar Laxmi Baug culvert, Bandra- Dharavi Road, Juhu-Tara Road, Ramchandra Nagar Nullah bridge- Malad, Link Road bridge, Malad, Oshivara Nullah which are more than 30 metres in width. The eight bridges are demolished and most of the remaining bridges are closed for traffic. "City have salinity in the air due to closeness with the sea. The bridges over nullahs corrode more often due to the proximity of the water. Now the technology has ungraded but these nullahs have been built 25-30 years ago," said an officer from the bridges department. "The rivers and nullahs have saline water. At many places chemicals are released into the water. The workmanship is also not up to the mark. Even heavy traffic affects the structure. All these combined causes the bridges to erode early," said Manoj Daisaria, an architect. He added, "The poor mechanism of BMC to inspect bridges has fuelled the problem." Though the BMC has found most of the nullahs bridge in dangerous state, there isn't any separate policy to inspect them more frequently. Re-Audit In the re-audit conducted after the Himalaya Bridge incident, the consultant found 15 more bridges in dilapidated condition. All these are built on the nullahs and rivers.

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