BMC installs first girder of Vidyavihar ROB, project to be completed in 2024

At 99.34 metres, the open-web-girder launched Sunday is the longest girder ever laid on a bridge running over railway tracks in India. The installation of the girder was undertaken using the winch pulling method between 1.20 am and 4.20 am, and during this period, a mega block was sanctioned by the Central Railway.

According to the civic body officials, the girder was shifted from east to west, situating it in the centre of the railway track. Over the next three days, the girder will be positioned towards the north.

Comprising two open web girders weighing 1,100 metric tonnes (MT) each, the ROB will ease the traffic load between Ghatkopar and Vidyavihar in the eastern suburbs and provide direct connectivity between Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg (LBS) and Ramkrishna Chemburkar Marg.

Pegged at a cost of Rs 178 crore, the project is being undertaken in two phases. Alongside improving connectivity, the flyover will provide commuters with direct access to Vidyavihar railway platforms. Meanwhile, construction of a railway ticket window, station master’s office and service road on either side and reconstruction of Somaiya nalla on the eastern side will also be undertaken.

P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (projects), told The Indian Express, “After both the girders are launched, work on the second phase will commence wherein construction work of approach roads on the east and west sides of the bridge will be taken up and we are planning to finish the project by December 2024.”

Speaking about the delay, Velrasu said there was an increase in the requirement for steel for constructing the girders within the railway portion.

“The quantity of steel increased from 1,100 MT to 2,069 MT as per IIT and the railway’s recommendations. This led to an overall change in the project and the contract cost was also revised. Therefore we bifurcated the work into two phases; in the first phase, the girders are being launched and in the second phase, the approach roads will be created on the bridge.”

He added that some of the major hurdles for delays stemmed from the constraints faced in sanctioning traffic and power blocks for work in the railway track portion.

Meanwhile, the civic body encountered challenges during the widening of storm drains, demolition and relocation of ticket window booths on both sides of the ROB, and eviction of encroachments on the project line, further delaying the project.