E-Paper
Pre-demolition work at Chandni Chowk completed
On Friday, union road transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari visited Pune and took an aerial review of the Chandni Chowk old bridge demolition work along with the NHAI officials
The final pre-demolition works of Chandni Chowk old bridge was completed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Friday. As per schedule, there will be a traffic block of nine hours from 11pm on October 1 to 8am on October 2. The bridge will be demolished at 2 am on Sunday.
The NHAI officials have completed the drilling and fitting of explosives. Signage boards of traffic diversions were installed at Talegaon, Khed-Shivapur toll plazas, where heavy vehicles will be stopped from entering the city.
As per information by NHAI Pune, the final works before the actual demolition day are being carried out in full speed. This includes construction of retaining walls on the highway for the six-lane highway road once the old bridge is demolished. Also, work of service road in front of the Shrungeri Math is in its final stage. Work on ramp No. 6, which is from Bavdhan to Satara, is also almost complete. On ramp No. 5 from NDA Road towards Mumbai, work of blasting rocks is underway on both sides of the highway.
“We have informed about the vehicle block on the highway and the diversion plans to the district collectors and police departments of Satara, Sangali, Kolhapur, Thane and Raigad and also to the commercial heavy vehicle transport associations in these districts so that they will avoid travelling during Saturday night on this route. All the heavy vehicles coming from Satara side will be stopped at Khed Shivapur toll naka and heavy vehicles coming from Mumbai side will stopped at Talegaon Dabhade toll naka. Accordingly, boards have been installed on the highways before the toll naka,” said Rahul Shrirame, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).
“We have got all the necessary permissions for demolition. A total of 1,300 holes have been drilled and 600kg explosives have been fitted. Demolition will take place as per schedule and removal of debris will be done post that. Now, we are filling up the sand bags to cover the surrounding areas and also the work of shifting the conveyor belt has been done,” said Sanjay Kadam, NHAI Pune project director.
On Friday, union road transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari visited Pune and took an aerial review of the Chandni Chowk old bridge demolition work along with the NHAI officials. He took a detailed review from the officials and instructed to construct the six-lane highway road after the demolition in the next eight days.
