Pune civic body undertakes repair & maintenance of seven old bridges

Following the collapse of the Savitri River bridge in Konkan in 2018, the state government made it compulsory for all bridges across all municipal corporations to undergo a structural audit

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has undertaken repair and maintenance of seven old bridges with hydraulic jacks being used to lift the bridges and replace their bearings. Earlier, the PMC conducted a structural audit of 40 city bridges that are more than 10 years old – after the Sadhu Vaswani Bridge in the Pune Cantonment area was found to be in a dangerous condition – only to discover that most bridges were in good condition but the bearings of some of them needed replacement.

While bearings are generally required to be replaced every 15 to 20 years, the bearings of some bridges in Pune are being replaced for the first time in 35 years. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/HT PHOTO)

While bearings are generally required to be replaced every 15 to 20 years, the bearings of some bridges in Pune are being replaced for the first time in 35 years.

Following the collapse of the Savitri River bridge in Konkan in 2018, the state government made it compulsory for all bridges across all municipal corporations to undergo a structural audit. In the first phase, the PMC project department conducted an audit of some flyovers, including the Hadapsar and Sadhu Vaswani flyovers, identifying the need for their repair and maintenance. It was found that 80% of the bridges in the city had been built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). When the PMC contacted the MSRDC to obtain the original plans of these bridges, the plans were found to be unavailable. The PMC then hired an independent consulting company to prepare new plans which have now been completed and repairs of the bridges have been undertaken accordingly.

Yuvraj Deshmukh, chief superintendent engineer, project department, said, “The municipal corporation appointed consulting firms to conduct a structural audit of 40 bridges. Based on the audit findings, maintenance and repair work is underway. The key tasks include filling cracks and replacing bearings. Repairs of seven bridges in Pune are in the final stage. Hydraulic jacks are being used to lift the bridges for replacement of bearings. Out of these, the bearing replacement for two bridges is still pending but will be completed in the next few days.”

Bearing capacity under scrutiny

After uncovering issues with the Hadapsar and Sadhu Vaswani flyovers, the PMC decided to conduct an audit of the design and structure of bridges whose original plans were unavailable. The audit focused on 40 bridges that are more than 10 years’ old. So far, a consulting company has completed the audit of 38 bridges. While the overall condition of these bridges is satisfactory, the reports emphasise an urgent need to replace their bearings. The PMC learned from the Hadapsar flyover experience that though bearings typically last for 15 to 20 years, they often require earlier replacement to ensure safety.