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Fix, re-audit bridges together: BMC

The audit of all 344 bridges in the city was ordered after the collapse of a portion of Gokhale Bridge in Andheri on July 3, 2018.

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Willing to take no chances with public safety, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ordered that repair work on 223 bridges, found to be in precarious health, should continue alongside the re-inspection of all 344 bridges.

In its report on March 18, DNA had cautioned about the delay in crucial bridge repair that would be caused by the re-audit of all of Mumbai's bridges, ordered after the collapse of Himalaya bridge. BMC had found the auditing agency, that gave the Foot Overbridge (FOB) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus a clean bill last year, to have overestimated its structural health.

As a save-face measure, the civic body called for re-inspection of all 344 bridges, skywalks, FOBs in the city.

BMC administration sent letters to concerned ward officers on Tuesday, telling them to demolish dilapidated bridges in their wards as soon as possible. This will lead to more chaos and traffic jams in a city already in the clutches of Monorail and Metro construction.

"BMC has told every enlisted contractor to start repair work immediately," said a senior BMC official, adding, "Re-inspection of bridges will start simultaneously. Bridges that were flagged for major repairs will be audited first, then those that were said to need minor work and last, those marked to be in good condition as per audit report."

The audit of all 344 bridges in the city was ordered after the collapse of a portion of Gokhale Bridge in Andheri on July 3, 2018.

IIT-B's (Indian Institute of Technology) structural report marked 176 bridges for minor repairs, 47 for major repairs and reconstruction of 14 bridges, of which three have already been demolished.

The administration was in the process of tendering demolition and construction contracts of these bridges. Work orders for bridges requiring major and minor repairs have already been issued. The civic body will invite tenders on short notice for the re-audit of bridges in the island city, having blacklisted D D Desai Associate Engineering Consultant and Analysis, who did that job before, after the collapse of Himalaya Bridge.

Over troubled waters

  • Re-inspection called for after auditors of Himalaya FOB found guilty of neglect 
  • Audit of 344 city bridges ordered after Gokhale Bridge collapsed last year
  • IIT-B’s structural report marked 176 bridges for minor repairs, 47 for major repairs and 14 for reconstruction
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