BMC initiates final launch of girders to connect Coastal Road with Bandra Worli Sea Link
The launching of the girder began in February and so far, two girders of 44 and 46 metres have been installed.
The making of this bridge was a major hurdle that civic authorities had to overcome for completing the MCRP project. File photo Taking its final step towards completing the first phase of Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has initiated the process of launching the girder of the bridge that will connect Worli with the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL), making up the final 850 metre-gap between the Worli interchange of the MCRP and BWSL.
The launching of the girder began in February and so far, two girders of 44 and 46 metres have been installed. Civic officials said that the entire length of 850 metres will be bridged by multiple small girders of 46 metres, 60 metres and 44 metres, while there will be a ‘bow-string’ bridge of 136 metres which will be made of a single girder.
Civic officials said that the entire process of launching girders is being taken up in barges that are anchored at the worksite on the Arabian Sea.
“After the girders are assembled, they are transported to the worksite and the entire process of girder launching is being carried out in the Arabian Sea since there is no adequate land-strip available, from where the bridge could be launched,” said an official.
The officials maintained that these barges are specifically brought from Abu Dhabi since trucks will not be able to transport them to the worksite which is in the middle of sea.
“The main challenge of implementing this project is that Worli has shallow water and thick density of bedrock, therefore during the low tide the rocks become visible. We are working 24 hours to analyse the condition of the sea and whenever we get a clear window of sea condition and wind speed, the process of girder launching is initiated,” the official said.
The making of this bridge was a major hurdle that civic authorities had to overcome for completing the MCRP project.
The fishing community demanded that the gap between the pillars on which the bridge is being created should be 200 metres, while the BMC’s recommendation of 60 metres would provide them a safe passage.
Following which, the fisherfolk went on a strike and the BMC had to revise the plan and had to remove one pillar to provide a wider navigation span to the boats. Since the engineers cannot erect an additional pillar, the civic body had resorted to the design of a ‘Bow-String’ girder bridge.
The speciality of ‘bow-string’ bridges is that the spans are held together through high-tension chords instead of having a base support on pillars. The chord forms an arch shaped girder from the outside and holds the ends of the bridge tightly with the surface.
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