‘Headache’ for Pune-Mumbai commuters, 190-year-old Amrutanjan bridge demolished

The Pune-Mumbai Expressway, which is otherwise six lanes wide, had to be restricted to four lanes — two on each side — due to the bridge’s pillars.

Now that the bridge has been demolished, plans for long-pending structural changes on the road in this stretch can be executed, officials said.

MSRDC officials said they had started planning the demolition after the lockdown was announced across the country and district borders and highways were closed except for essential and emergency purposes. After getting permission from Raigad district authorities, the bridge was demolished with explosives.

The bridge, which shares its name with that of a famous brand of pain-relief balm, has a long history. “This used to be a railway bridge and was only used for transit and at times parking of goods trains on the Pune and Mumbai route. But its use stopped several years ago and it is closed now. But for many years, there was an advertisement of Amrutanjan Balm on the structure of the bridge, which led to the name Amrutanjan Bridge,” said Milind Mohite, superintendent of police with State Highway Police.

Mohite said, “The structure of the old bridge was a problem. This spot, which had almost become a bottleneck, used to witness frequent traffic jams, especially after breakdown of heavy vehicles or mishaps.”

This stretch between Khopoli and Khandala, where the bridge stood, had turns with gradients and it often resulted in breakdown of heavy vehicles, causing long traffic jams. Also, heavy vehicles of a significant length used to get stuck as they did not get adequate turning radius or at times the driver could jot judge the turn.