After commuter notices ‘uneven gap’, traffic halted for 40mins on Kemps Corner bridge

The traffic cops stepped in and closed the bridge and allowed vehicles only after civic engineers inspected the purported gap and found nothing problematic with the bridge

Mumbai After a commuter noticed an ‘uneven gap’ between two of the girders of the Kemps Corner bridge in South Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon and informed the Gamdevi police, traffic came to an abrupt halt for 40 minutes.

According to traffic police officers, after the Gamdevi police received the call from a commuter, they asked the traffic police to close the bridge for vehicular traffic as a precaution (HT Photo)

The traffic cops stepped in and closed the bridge and allowed vehicles only after civic engineers inspected the purported gap and found nothing problematic with the bridge.

According to traffic police officers, after the Gamdevi police received the call from a commuter, they asked the traffic police to close the bridge for vehicular traffic as a precaution.

The officers said that the traffic was diverted through August Kranti Maidan – Haji Ali - Wilson College - Nana Chowk route. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) engineers arrived at the spot and inspected the ‘uneven gap’. “The BMC engineers informed us after inspection that there was no technical problem in the bridge,” said Pradnya Jedage, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, South Mumbai.

“We went to the site and examined the Kemps Corner bridge. The gap between two slabs has been misunderstood by someone as cracks. There is no danger at all,”said a civic official from the BMC bridges department.

Jedage said that the commuter reported misalignment in the joint between two girders, which looked as if the bridge had developed a crack and was in danger of giving way. “The traffic resumed around 3.40pm after the BMC engineers gave us a go ahead,” said Jedage.

Commuters, however, complained that Tardeo Road was jammed and traffic management was poor along the stretch.