2 days after inauguration by CM Thackeray, Dombivli bridge develops pothole

The municipal corporation said the bridge was built in a record time of 16 months during the Covid-19 pandemic and reopened before Ganesh Chathurthi to help reduce traffic snarls in the city and there was still some work left to be done

Two days after it was inaugurated by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the railway over bridge at Dombivli in Thane district developed a pothole, making commuters question if it was due to shoddy work. Several images of the pothole went viral on social media.

The Kalyan-Dombivli municipal corporation was attending to the pothole on the railway bridge that caused it embarrassment on social media (Rishikesh Choudhary/HT Photo)

A vital link between Dombivli east and west, the bridge was opened on Tuesday to traffic, two years after it was declared unsafe and shut down on September 15, 2019 by the Central Railway.

“The bridge developed a small pothole within two days after it was reopened. Now we are concerned if the civic body has done shoddy work. Since it is still raining, more potholes might develop on the bridge,” said Anand Surve, 38, a commuter.

The municipal corporation said the bridge was built in a record time of 16 months during the Covid-19 pandemic and reopened before Ganesh Chathurthi to help reduce traffic snarls in the city.

“We have taken up the work of filling up the pothole. There is nothing to worry, since the bridge was constructed during the monsoon period, it has not received proper heat to settle, and that is the reason for the pothole to surface. We have not laid the final layer yet which will be done after the monsoon is over,” said Sapna Koli, city engineer, Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation.