Portion of walkway of Tilak bridge sinks

A portion of the pedestrian walkway of 90-year-old Tilak bridge in Dadar sank on Sunday evening, prompting a joint inspection by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

A portion of the pedestrian walkway of 90-year-old Tilak bridge in Dadar sank on Sunday evening, prompting a joint inspection by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Western Railway (WR). The inspection concluded the main frame of the bridge was intact, and the sinking of the surface does not pose immediate danger to commuters. BMC and railways will undertake joint repairs on the bridge, during which the vehicular traffic will not be affected.

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Tilak bridge is an important bridge that ensures east-west connectivity in the island city. In the past one year, the bridge has seen a rise in vehicular traffic owing to closure and demolition of Lower Parel’s Delisle Bridge, ahead of its rebuilding.

“The inspection revealed that there is a duct underneath the portion that sank. The exact cause of the sinking of the surface can’t be determined. We noticed there are a lot of utility cables under the surface, which add dead load to the bridge. These will be removed before the repair work,” said a senior civic officer from the bridges department.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of G North ward, said, “The cavity under the surface weakened and hence it sank, taking the surface tiles along.”

The portion of the walkway that sank belongs to the WR, and is located above platform two. The railways department will coordinate the work.

BMC included the Tilak bridge in its list of eight bridges slated for repairs, after the Himalaya Bridge collapse at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in March 2019. In November 2019, chunks of plaster from the bottom of the Tilak bridge fell onto the Senapati Bapat Marg below.

“The work of awarding a tender for work on the bridge is going on,” said a senior civic official.

The Elphinstone Road rail overbridge and Currey Road bridge are the other two bridges that offer east-west connectivity in the island city.