Ghatkopar road overbridge redesigned midway; three pier caps to be partly demolished and rebuilt after 30% of work

Mumbai: The design of the road overbridge (ROB) being built at Ghatkopar has been revised in the middle of construction, the Free Press Journal reported, citing The Times of India. The change comes after about 30% of the work was completed, and three pier caps will be partly demolished and rebuilt higher.

Under the new plan, the bridge will have two tiers. A lower ROB will carry local east-west traffic, while the main cable-stayed span will go up by a few metres and get three lanes each way to carry through traffic between Andheri and the Eastern Express Highway. Three pier caps, R, RP16 and RP17, will be altered so that a second, road-level ROB can run between Pant Nagar Junction and Shreyas (LBS) Junction.

The ageing ROB on the Andheri–Ghatkopar Link Road was declared dilapidated and is being pulled down and rebuilt. A senior Maha Rail official said the redesign was meant to meet both present and future traffic needs, with the structure planned to last 80 to 100 years.

Under the earlier design, the 2+2-lane bridge over LBS Junction would have forced residents crossing between the west and east sides to go towards Shreyas Junction, make a U-turn and come back. The lower ROB will give them a direct route instead, helping people reach hospitals, schools, markets, the ward office and the railway station on the eastern side, and separating local and through traffic on the busy Ghatkopar corridor.

Source: Free Press Journal