Thane: New Patripool bridge work begins, traffic prohibited at night till August 24

The 104-year-old Patripool bridge in Kalyan was dismantled in November 2018 before the MSRDC took up the work of the new bridge

The Patripool bridge on the Kalyan-Shilphata stretch in Thane will be closed from 10 pm to 5 am till August 24. Thane traffic police had to announce this decision following the work of laying girders for the new parallel bridge.

HT Image

In a notification issued on Wednesday evening, Thane traffic police said since the work of laying girders for the parallel bridge had to be done, the existing Patripool bridge, which is being used, will remain closed during night hours.

The 104-year-old Patripool bridge in Kalyan was dismantled in November 2018 before the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) took up the work of the new bridge. Several deadlines were announced for the completion of the bridge. However, none of them was met. Commuters and activists have been complaining about the delay in building the new bridge as they face traffic snarls on the existing Patripool bridge.

The new deadline set by the MSRDC for the completion of the project is August-end.

The work of the new Patripool bridge got a boost in May this year as the MSRDC officials planned to use the lockdown period to complete the project.

“The bridge will remain shut as the work of laying girders will be undertaken. The existing bridge will be used to park the crane that will lift the girders and lay it for the new bridge. We have given alternative routes which should be followed to avoid any sort of congestion at the site,” said Amit Kale, deputy commissioner of traffic police, Thane.

As per the notification from Thane police, heavy vehicles taking the Kalyan-Shil road will not allowed entry at Rajnouli chowk at Bhiwandi naka and will be diverted to Khategaon toll naka-Mumbra bypass road.

Small vehicles taking the Shil road will not be allowed entry at Durgadi chowk and will be diverted to Adharwadi chowk-Khadakpada chowk-Waldhuni bridge-Kalyan east.

Vehicles coming from Kalyan Nagar route will not be allowed entry at Subhash chowk and will be diverted from Netaji chowk to Waldhuni bridge. Those vehicles leading towards Patripool bridge from Kalyan-Shilphata stretch will not be allowed entry from Suchak naka.

Work on the most-awaited new, two-lane Patripool bridge came to a halt on March 23 after the lockdown to fight Covid-19 pandemic was imposed. However, it was resumed by April 2 with minimum workers at the site.

An officer from MSRDC , who did not wish to be named, said, ”The work for laying girders will take five days. It will be done during night hours while is no traffic movement.”