Huge crowd of commuters at bridge MUMBAI: The abrupt closure of Lower Parel’s Delisle bridge , a key east-west link, on Tuesday morning led to such a concentration of pedestrians in the lane under it that for over two hours it seemed that a stampede was imminent. So congested is the area that other than the narrow Datta Ahire Marg, there are no public pathways to cross over into the Lower Parel office district, especially for the hordes of commuters who alight at Currey Road station, travelling from the eastern suburbs.For residents of buildings along the lane, the scenes were reminiscent of what occurred on a similarly confined stretch not so long ago, not so far away: The death of 23 people on the Elphinstone Road footbridge last September.Although there was no rain on Tuesday, the bigger worry for commuters is that it could take at least two years for the Delisle bridge—declared corroded and dangerous—to be reconstructed, according to Western Railway.<doc-sep>All those who have their offices in Lower Parel, Worli, Currey Road, Elphinstone Road and Mahalaxmi and travel by road to reach there, be prepared for a terrible week ahead. The Delisle Road over-bridge that crosses the tracks at Lower Parel station will be shut from Tuesday, both for vehicles and pedestrians considering its dilapidated condition. It has been found that the cross girders of this Lower Parel ROB are highly corroded and needs to be replaced. "We received a letter from the Western Railway about shutting down this ROB in Lower Parel. From 6 am on Tuesday, this bridge shall be closed for all vehicular traffic and pedestrians," said Ashok Dudhe, DCP (City), Traffic Police. It shall be demolished after shutting it down. The Western Railway has asked the BMC and Traffic Police to shut down this bridge as it is in dilapidated condition and needs immediate attention. In fact, on July 23, there is an emergency meeting at WR headquarters in Churchgate called to discuss the future course of action. This decision has been taken on the basis of the report of recent inspection by the team comprising of engineers from Western Railway, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and IIT Bombay. This ROB is skewed by 64 degrees as it crosses tracks near Lower Parel station as it connects Currey Road ROB on one end and other leads to Phoenix Mall. Ravinder Bhakar, Chief PRO, Western Railway said: "After inspection on July 17, IIT Bombay submitted a preliminary report to close this bridge immediately. This report was given to WR and MCGM both on July 20. We have given information accordingly to all concerned authorities including the police". The WR officials claim that they are on the job to get expert consultancy on rebuilding the new bridge in shortest possible time after its demolition. Senior WR officials said that they have written a letter to the BMC Commissioner asking them shut down the Lower Parel ROB immediately for all types of vehicles and pedestrians with immediate effect. "We have requested that reconstruction of this ROB may be executed by MCGM, as being done in the case of Hancock bridge in Central Railway," said a WR official. Ever since Andheri bridge collapse, the issue of lack of co-ordination between government agencies has emerged. In this case, the WR has requested MCGM to rebuild the bridge, while it would supervise the railway portion. Sources said that the MCGM has sent a letter on July 21 to carry out work by railways on their portion. While the WR replied stating that MCGM should execute reconstruction work at their level. It has also been decided that if the condition of any ROB or FOB is poor then without a second thought, it shall be closed for public use.<doc-sep>Experts have found massive corrosion on Lower Parel road overbridge Mumbai's busiest business district that sees a huge number of vehicles pouring in everyday will have to deal with traffic jams for a few days. The Lower Parel bridge will be reconstructed as it has become weak due to corrosion. Waking up to the problem of old and weak road overbridges in Mumbai after the Andheri bridge collapsed earlier this month, especially over railway tracks, the Lower Parel bridge which is also known as the Delisle bridge will be shut for traffic. The decision to repair these bridges was taken after a joint inspection by IIT Bombay, Western Railway (WR) and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The experts say massive corrosion on the Lower Parel road overbridge could lead to a collapse, which is why it is being repaired urgently. In a series of tweets, the Western Railway announced that the bridge needs urgent attention and will have to be reconstructed. From July, 24, 2018, there will no entry to all vehicular traffic & pedestrians on Delise Bridge ie Lower Parel Road Over Bridge in view of Safety due to its condition. . It has been decided to repair 6 ROBs on priority on WR after joint audit inspections. pic.twitter.com/HUHK6qzumW - Western Railway (@WesternRly) July 23, 2018 Constructed in 1921, Lower Parel Road Over Bridge to remain shut for all vehicular & pedestrian traffic from 8 am, Tuesday, 24th July, 2018 in view of Safety due to its condition. It was decided after joint audit inspection by Rlys, BMC & IIT Expert. pic.twitter.com/uekU3QV0g8 - Western Railway (@WesternRly) July 23, 2018 The traffic police say they have chalked out alternative traffic routes, but for an area that is a major business hub in the financial capital and that already sees a huge traffic jam, the traffic management is going to be difficult with the closure of the bridge. Apart from the Lower Parel bridge, five other bridges will also undergo major repairs. Ferere road overbridge (ROB) at Grant Road, Belasis ROB at Mumbai Central, Tilak ROB at Dadar, Carol ROB at Prabhadevi and Mahalaxmi ROB -- will undergo repairs. The Lower Parel bridge, however, is being taken up on a priority basis. The Western Railways has started inspecting bridges above its tracks as part of a safety audit that was ordered by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal following the collapse of a portion of a bridge at Andheri station on July 3, which brought suburban train services to a grinding halt. For more city news, click here<doc-sep>Joint team from IIT-B, BMC and Western Railway carried out inspection last week The team led by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) inspecting bridges in the city has recommended that the road overbridge (ROB) at Lower Parel be shut for traffic. The British-era bridge was inspected last week by the joint team of engineers from Western Railway (WR), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and IIT-B, and was found to be corroded. The team was set up on the directive of Railways Minister Piyush Goyal to inspect bridges on the Mumbai suburban railway section after the Gokhale bridge collapse in Andheri. Professor Pradipta Banerjee of the IIT-B, who is heading the team, said, “The bridge is in pretty bad condition. We have recommended that it be closed to traffic for now.” Prof. Banerjee said the bridge could carry light traffic, but there was always the risk of heavy vehicles using it when it is not being monitored, and hence they have recommended that it be closed completely. WR officials said they have called for structural engineers and consultants to rebuild the ROB. “We have asked for proposals for suitable structure and methodology. We want designs that can be executed in the shortest possible time span,” a senior railway official said. WR will look at presentations for the same on Monday. WR recently closed the pedestrian portions of the Bandra-Kalanagar ROB and Vasai Road ROB. The joint team has been inspecting bridges over the last 10 days. Prof. Banerjee said the team’s priority has been to first inspect bridges that have been troublesome and could have issues. The team will inspect around 445 bridges in the Mumbai suburban section.<doc-sep>
Commuters, brace for traffic woes from July 24 as the traffic police is set to restrict vehicular and pedestrian movement on the 62.72-m Delisle road over bridge (RoB) at Lower Parel – one of the busiest business hubs in the city. The western railway (WR) has asked the civic body and the traffic police to shut the RoB “immediately” as it found the bridge, which is 23.20m wide, unsafe during its joint safety audit on July 17, conducted with IIT-Bombay after the July 3 Andheri bridge mishap. No vehicular traffic or pedestrians will be allowed. According to WR, the cross girders of the RoB are highly corroded. “This RoB was constructed in 1921 and according to the inspection report, the cross girders over the tracks need to be replaced,’’ said Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer (PRO), WR. “After a detailed technical inspection of the Lower Parel RoB, it has been recommended that in view of safety, the said bridge be closed and dismantled as soon as possible,” said a city traffic police spokesperson. The traffic police decided to divert traffic on this bridge via Senapati Bapat Marg and NM Joshi Marg. For east-west journey from Lower Parel, motorists will have to use either Elphinstone Road RoB or Mahalaxmi RoB. Closure of the RoB for vehicles is likely to cause traffic snarls in Lower Parel and neighbouring Curry Road, Elphinstone Road, Worli and other areas. WR also invited expression of interest from structural engineers and consultants for rebuilding the Lower Parel RoB in the shortest time possible. In the latest letter to the civic chief, WR’s divisional railway manager also requested that the reconstruction of this RoB may be executed by the civic body as is being done in the case of Hancock Bridge, near Sandhurst Road, on central railway. Devendra Kumar Jain, assistant commissioner from G-South ward, under whose jurisdiction this bridge falls said, “We received a letter from the Railways and forwarded it to the civic bridges department.” An official from the bridges department said they have replied to WR’s letter saying the repair work can start. WR has also asked the civic body to reconstruct or repair its six RoBs between Churchgate and Dadar section, including the Delisle RoB. The list includes Ferere RoB at Grant Road, Belasis RoB at Mumbai Central, Tilak RoB at Dadar, Carol RoB at Prabhadevi and the RoB at Mahalaxmi.