From Monday, Dindoshi flyover to be opened completely

From next Monday, May 26, motorists will get relief from traffic jams caused due to repairs on the south-bound stretch of Dindoshi bridge. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation plans to reopen all three lanes of the flyover.

As per the schedule chalked out by the authorities, by May 25 night, works on the 550-metre-long bridge will be through.

"Grouting work is done on the top portion of the bridge and the same is going on at the bottom portion," said a source involved in the flyover's repair.

According to an official, the major component of the works is over and, in a couple of days, bitumen and asphalt will be put on half the bridge. The rest of it will be covered with a fresh layer of bitumen and asphalt on May 24 and 25.

On Tuesday, authorities had reopened one lane of the south-bound bridge to reduce traffic jams on the Western Express Highway. Dindoshi flyover is also known as Goregaon-Mulund Link Road Junction flyover.

Structural defect on the flyover was noticed on October 1 last year. Questions were raised over the construction quality, but an IIT-Bombay report said the structure has inadequate concrete strength and the cracks seem to be due to the bending of the slabs. The report said the likely reasons for the poor condition of the bridge may be fatigue, overloading and its curved shape.

The south-bound bridge was constructed between April 13, 1998, and April 12, 1999, by New Delhi-based VRM Global Infrastructure at a cost of Rs11.5 crore.

Major repair work on the Vasai Creek Bridge is nearing completion. According to Mukund Attarde of National Highway Authority of India, the bridge will be reopened on June 6 as work on lowering the girder will commence from Wednesday, followed by laying a slab, grouting and eventually putting bitumen over the bridge.