Dombivli rail overbridge work: KDMC speaks in two voices

After shutting Dombivli rail overbridge (RoB), authorities are not sure about the bridge repair work.

After shutting Dombivli rail overbridge (RoB), authorities are not sure about the bridge repair work.

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While Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation standing committee chairman Dipesh Mhatre said the bridge would be repaired and reopened in three months, the administration said it will take at least six to eight months to complete the work.

KDMC officials said the work will begin only after the elections.

“On Monday, railway officials held a meeting with mayor Vinita Rane and MP Shrikant Shinde to discuss the Dombivli ROB. We have decided to complete the work in three months. People have a confusion that the entire bridge will be dismantled but that is not the case. We will only repair the bridge and it can be done in three months,” said Mhatre.

However, civic officials said the work will take six to eight months to complete as the entire slab of the bridge has to be repaired. “The entire slab is damaged and we need to repair it entirely. The work can only begin after the electric cables are shifted. We have the methodology ready but it will take at least six months to finish the work,” said a KDMC official, who did not wish to be named.

The 39-year-old unsafe Dombivli RoB, a vital link between Dombivli east and west, was shut for traffic from Sunday.

After the closure of the bridge, boards were put up across Dombivli and Thakurli to inform commuters that vehicles are diverted to the newly built Thakurli RoB. As per the traffic police, vehicles exiting from Thakurli RoB will have to take the route towards Manjunath College and those entering the RoB, will have to take Nehru Road.

However, this led to congestion on the narrow lane that leads to the Thakurli ROB.

Peak-hour traffic congestion has increased on the road leading to the Thakurli ROB as the roads connecting the ROB are narrow.

“Nehru road is congested in the evening as vehicles move slowly. Parked vehicles along the road add to the congestion. Traffic cops are deployed at the entrance of the bridge but this is not easing the congestion in anyway,” said Madhukar Pansare, 38, who travels on Thakurli rail overbridge to reach Dombivli.

The RoB was shut for heavy vehicles on July 12. Height barriers were installed on August 21 to stop heavy vehicles from entering the bridge.

“More than 25 traffic wardens have been deployed to handle the traffic towards the bridge. The roads are congested but there is no major disruption as we have diverted traffic,” said SN Jadhav, senior traffic police inspector, Dombivli traffic unit.

“The closure of the bridge was decided in May and till now the authorities have not figured out when to complete the work. This shows their negligence. The delay will affect commuters,” said Aditi Pawar, 45, a commuter.