Eastern freeway: Traffic diversions ahead as BMC plans waterproofing work

BMC has floated bids for the work that will be carried out for 12 months. The work on eastern freeway is likely to start in the next two months

Traffic movement on the eastern freeway – which cuts the travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai – is likely to be affected as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned to take up waterproofing work to stop leakage from the twin tunnels at the Anik Panjarapole side of the route.

The entire waterproofing work on eastern freeway is likely to cost around ₹15 crore and the scope of work includes chemical coating and fixing of leakages, cracks and expansion joints etc, said BMC. (HT FILE)

Bids have been floated for the work that will be carried out for 12 months. The work is likely to start in the next two months.

For the past few years, water leakages have been witnessed inside the twin tunnels. However, BMC has been unable to find the exact source of the leakage and will take up the waterproofing work owing to a risk of accidents.

Last month, BMC had appointed Veermata Jijabai Technical Institute (VJTI) as a consultant to detect the exact source of leakage. The contract cost was ₹23 lakh. According to BMC officials, after the guidance and expertise provided by the consultant, they have now decided to go ahead with floating bids for the actual work. The entire project waterproofing work is likely to cost around ₹15 crore and the scope of work includes chemical coating and fixing of leakages, cracks and expansion joints etc.

“It is unlikely that we will totally shut down traffic movement during the waterproofing work, but there will be a few diversions. We may also consider working in at night with the required lighting,” a BMC official said.

The bid document floated by BMC reads, “As the work under this tender is to be carried out near the running traffic, it will be essential for the contractor to take all measures to ensure safety. The intending tenderer should carefully examine the site to understand the restrictions on availability of space and provision of safety measures.”

The 16-km freeway, started in 2014, was constructed with an aim to cut travel time between Navi Mumbai and Thane to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) from one-and-a-half hours to 40 minutes. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) that built the freeway handed over the maintenance of the highway to BMC in May 2015.