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Mumbai: Phase 1 of Carnac, Bandra-Mahim bridge work mostly completed

Phase one of work related to the Carnac bridge and Bandra-Mahim rail bridge was mostly completed over the weekend. While Western Railway (WR) authorities ensured the latter structure’s work was carried out smoothly, there were hiccups in the construction of the bridge on Central Railway (CR) due to a misalignment and a mishap where a labourer was injured in the early hours of Sunday.

Trains on the central line were delayed on Republic Day due to these issues and the length of the block imposed to carry out the work had to be increased by four and half hours. The speed of trains at the Carnac bridge was restricted to 30 km as a precaution. Three more blocks have been planned. Work is currently being done to push the second lane girder of Carnac Bunder road overbridge above railway lines.

Work being carried out on the Carnac road overbridge

Confirming the incident, a CR spokesperson said, “A block operated by the BMC to launch girders at Carnac bridge was cancelled late [on Saturday] as there were some issues and as per information received, a person was also injured. Things continued on Sunday, but the bridge has been left hanging by the BMC.”
Another major endeavour that began this weekend, the reconstruction of the Bandra-Mahim railway bridge over the Mithi river has started. By the end of the weekend, the first phase of the work was completed. In the first phase, the old girders were removed to relieve the abutment (base) and install temporary restricted height girders on all four lines. The next phase is to demolish the old abutment (base), rebuild it to the new standard and then lay proper girders. The rail bridge at Bandra was Indian Railways’ last remaining bridge on a screw-pile foundation. The work is expected to continue until April and will be completed before the monsoon sets in this year.

What it means to commuters

After a major rail accident on the Kadalundi bridge, which had a screw-pile foundation, in 2001, the Railway Board decided to replace all such structures on priority. Screw-pile foundations tend to collapse without warning. The work got delayed due to the unavailability of bidders (a tender was floated five times) and extended deliberations on the finalisation of a suitable scheme so as to have the least possible impact on suburban traffic. Once the new Bandra-Mahim bridge is ready, trains on the stretch will be safer and faster. At Carnac bridge, work related to the first girder has been completed and work on the second one is underway. The bridge is expected to be completed by June 2025 after which this crucial south Mumbai link connecting P D’Mello Road to the JJ flyover will be complete, easing motorists’ woes.

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No. of blocks planned for Carnac bridge work

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