Flyover under construction near Mumbai develops huge crack, debris smashes car

No one was injured, but the incident has affected traffic on Bhiwandi-Kalyan road, on which the flyover is being built

A large crack was detected on an under-construction bridge at Bhiwandi, located around 30 km from Mumbai, late on Wednesday, after chunks of concrete from the flyover fell on a four-wheeler that was passing under it.

The three-km-long flyover on Bhiwandi-Kalyan road runs from Rajiv Gandhi Chowk to Saibaba temple. (Praful Gangurde)

The car was damaged badly, but no one was injured in the incident.

“Suddenly, a portion of the bridge cracked and debris fell on a car. It led to panic and a major traffic block in the night,” said a traffic police officer from Bhiwandi, who did not wish to be named.

The three-km-long flyover on Bhiwandi-Kalyan road, which is being built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, runs from Rajiv Gandhi Chowk to Saibaba temple. The road connects to Bhiwandi bypass road, which leads to the Mumbai-Nashik highway. The flyover has been under construction for close to two years now.

The car was passing under the flyover when parts of the flyover landed on it on Wednesday night. (Praful Gangurde)

The incident severely affected traffic going into Bhiwandi as well as vehicles heading towards Bhiwandi bypass road, as vehicles could not drive under the flyover. The space under the flyover has been cordoned off. As a result, on Thursday morning too, traffic between Kalyan and Bhiwandi is slow-moving.

The incident has raised concerns over the quality of materials being used to build the bridge.