Brace for a bumpy ride: Amar Mahal flyover will take 4 months to repair

Maharashtra government decides to replace flyover’s entire steel base with a concrete structure, instead of just a part

Commuters will have to wait for more than four months to drive on the Amar Mahal flyover as the state government has decided to replace the superstructure of the entire 230m flyover.

The flyover had been shut since April 8 after two of its joints were found damaged (HT)

The decision was taken after an expert committee declared the steel superstructure of the flyover as ‘unreliable’. The committee, headed by Dr Ravi Sinha, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), found five of the ten joints damaged, after which it has recommended to replace the entire superstructure with a traditional concrete superstructure, sources revealed.

A superstructure refers to the part between the pillars and the deck of a flyover. In case of Amar Mahal, the superstructure is made of steel and owing to excess load on the flyover, the joints have been damaged, the officials said.

The flyover had been shut since April 8 after two of its joints were found damaged. This had led to huge traffic congestions. Constructed in 1995, the flyover connects Mumbai to Thane and Nashik. A few days later, the public works department (PWD) decided to carry out repairs on 60 metres of the flyover and had estimated the repairs be completed in four months.

Now, based on the fresh recommendations, the PWD has decided to replace the complete superstructure in two phases and to issue tenders for construction.

In the first phase, work on the north-bound stretch (to Thane) will be done and the repairs on the south-bound (to Mumbai) stretch will be taken up in the second phase.

“We are intending to complete the repairs in four months, but everything depends on the bidders. They know the constraints better. We have to extend the period if four months are found to be insufficient,” said a senior official requesting anonymity.

The expert committee’s recommendations was based on three tests — 3D mapping, horizontal displacement, vertical deflection — to analyse the structural stability of the flyover, a source said. The final report of the committee is still awaited

The department has decided on May 9 as the last day for submitting bids that will be opened in the next two days.

Read

Brace for traffic snarls in Mumbai, Amar Mahal flyover repairs to take four months