Mumbai: On weekend, Carnac bridge to be razed and Kopri ROB to come up

Girders for the Kopri bridge in Thane, which is part of the EEH

This weekend will be a crucial one for Central Railway's busy rail network, as a 164-year-old bridge will be dismantled and a new one will be set up 16 km away. Seven girders of the Carnac Bunder bridge will come down while seven fresh ones will be installed in Thane.

By Monday morning, the antiquated bridge will have been removed in one go and new girders will be put in place at Kopri, Thane, for the other bridge in a section of the Eastern Express Highway (EEH). For Carnac Bunder, a special 27-hour special traffic and power block will be in place on November 19 and 20 in order to carry out dismantling work. A total of seven spans, crisscrossing above 10 lines will be pulled down with the help of three cranes with a 350-metric tonne capacity and one capable of lifting 500 metric tonnes. Four hundred personnel, including 30-35 officers and 100 supervisors, have been deployed for the job.

Also read: BMC makes a habit of delaying bridge work

Carnac bridge's steel structure that will be dismantled by Monday

Suburban services will not be available between Byculla and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on the mainline, and Wadala and CSMT on the harbour line during the block. All suburban services on the mainline will be short-terminated/originated at Byculla, Parel, Dadar and Kurla stations on Sunday.

At Kopri, seven giant girders for the new road overbridge will be placed using two road cranes with a capacity of 500 metric tonnes and 700 metric tonnes, respectively, between 1.30 am and 3.45 am on Sunday and Monday on all lines. A hundred personnel have been deployed for the job.

A plaque on the 164-year-old Carnac Bunder bridge

WR to ease pressure

Western Railway (WR) on Friday said there would not be any block and that services would be operated as usual.

"There will be no jumbo block on Sunday, November 20, over WR's Mumbai suburban section. WR's local services will run as per the normal weekday schedule, but AC local services will run as per the Sunday schedule," WR chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur said.

mid-day impact

CR will save the plaques of the antiquated bridge. "The heritage bridge has some six stones on which the year of construction is inscribed. These will be preserved suitably either at a heritage gully or museum area," Shivaji Sutar, chief spokesperson, CR, said.

Facts and figures

Carnac bridge
£Steel structure weighs 450 tonnes, is 50 m long and 18.8 m wide
£7 spans will be removed
£50 gas cutters, helpers will be present at a time
£300 gas cylinders and four cranes will be utilised

Thane girder
£7 girders to be installed
£Each rly girder is 63 m long, weighs 104 tonnes
£About 100 personnel will take part in the op
£Two cranes will be utilised