Metro first line gets railway's clearance
The 18-month-long deliberations over the construction of rail over-bridge in Andheri have finally ended on a positive note.
The 18-month-long deliberations over the construction of rail over-bridge in Andheri have finally ended on a positive note.
The 183-m long rail overbridge, connecting Andheri (East) with Andheri (West), which is vital for city's first proposed Metro line between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, has been approved.
The design-related issues raised by the Western Railway (WR) had halted work on the bridge. With the WR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Mumbai Metro One Pvt. Ltd. resolving issues pertaining to the construction of the rail over-bridge, work on the Metro line will begin soon.
"We will now sign a tripartite agreement, which will ensure that we get the necessary blocks from the Western Railway to take up construction work on Andheri station," said SVR Srinivas, metropolitan commissioner in charge.
"We have approved them (Metro One) to begin construction at Andheri. They have been given a two-and-a-half hour power slot during night, from 1.30am to 4am, to start work on the bridge," said Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relation officer, WR.
The bridge will be constructed in three spans, of 61m each. The fabrication work of one span is already over and the rest is in progress. The three spans would be placed on four piers, of which only one would be erected between the railway lines and three away from the railway lines.
Work on the ambitious Metro project began in 2006 and was expected to be complete by June 2009, but problems with handing over Versova car shed and other litigations meant actual work started only in February 2008 and was expected to be ready by February 2011. The Andheri rail overbridge delayed this project further.
Mumbai Metro One now expects to start work on the Andheri rail overbridge by March and complete it in nine months, by October 2011.
