Work on Carnac Bridge resumes as girders arrive; BMC penalises contractor for delay
The ongoing construction work on the bridge got stuck after there was a delay in the supply of girders, which were supposed to arrive on April 30.
3 min read
The girders act as the base for the approach roads, which are the main carriageway of the bridges. Civic officials said that after the girders are placed, the surface will be evened, following which approach roads will be made.
After a delay of nearly 15 days, the work on Mumbai’s Carnac Bridge resumed on Sunday. Stating that a penalty of Rs 1.8 crore has been imposed on the contractor, the civic officials maintained that despite the delay, the deadline remains unchanged and the bridge will be opened for vehicular movement from June 10.
The ongoing construction work on the bridge got stuck after there was a delay in the supply of girders, which were supposed to arrive on April 30.
However, they arrived only on May 10, following which the work resumed.
“During our inspection last month, we had told the contractors that if the girders don’t arrive by April 30, then a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per day will be imposed on them, and if the girders do not arrive by May 2, then the amount will be doubled to Rs 20 lakh per day, and it will continue till the girders arrive,” Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (Projects), told the Indian Express.
He maintained that since the girders arrived on May 10, the total penalty amount imposed on the contractor stands at Rs 1.8 crore.
In the current phase of the construction, the BMC will install 30 girders that will hold the bridge intact.
The girders act as the base for the approach roads, which are the main carriageway of the bridges. Civic officials said that after the girders are placed, the surface will be evened, following which approach roads will be made.
“Usually, the construction and transportation of these girders are not very complicated. We had stationed our engineers at the workshop in Daman to supervise the work personally. The delay could easily be avoided, and if the reasons for the delay had been genuine, then no penalty would have been implemented on them,” Bangar added.
The 19th-century Carnac Bridge was a key east-west connector that provided vehicles with direct access to P D’Mello Road.
It was demolished in 2022, nearly eight years after being declared “unsafe” in a structural audit. The Carnac Bridge is one of the first bridges in Mumbai built over railway tracks and was 154 years old when it was pulled down. The new bridge will be a superstructure made of steel that will have four vehicular lanes, allowing for the smooth flow of traffic, compared to the two-lane traffic in the previous bridge.
This means that the new bridge would hold double the traffic volume.
Besides, the new bridge will be equipped with modern-day signage and lighting. Once operational, the Carnac Bridge is expected to decongest South Mumbai roads significantly.
You May Like
