Panel urges open space under bridges

The Standing Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) on roads, an expert advisory panel, in its report on city bridges submitted to the BMC on Friday, has found offices and units located on the underside of bridges and flyovers as detrimental to their periodical inspection.

Many units including municipal godowns, government offices and police chowkies have found base below or within box girder of bridges.

Committee chairman NV Merani, who presented the report to BMC chief Jairaj Phatak, recommended separate guidelines for use of space below bridges, Merani, said, “If the utilities are unavoidable, they must be of a low height making bridges easily accessible for maintenance.”

The committee found the condition of 253 existing bridges -including flyovers, water ways, FOBs, ROBs and subways- needing attention. It has made 80 recommendations relating to their design preparation, procurement, execution and maintenance.

Blaming authorities for a lack of expertise while executing bridge contracts, it has advocated setting up of an expert group for scrutinising design plans before construction. Upgradation of professional skills of the staff monitoring bridge work.

Committee has asked BMC to relocate all concerned utilities to facilitate regular quality audits. Merani has suggested special design provisions for the structures durability considering the city’s salinity, pollution levels,its seismic vulnerability and traffic projection for next 20 years. The committee has set a time frame of one to ten months for implementation of various suggested reforms.

Phatak said, “We will review all the recommendations before planning our action.”