Mumbai: This is how a Rs 247 cr bridge looks 90 days after opening

The Vasai Creek bridge, which opened to traffic on March 27 after years of demands from commuters, has exposed the shoddy construction job, thanks to just four days of rain. The Rs 247-crore bridge, built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has developed potholes, endangering the lives of motorists and particularly two-wheeler riders.

This correspondent on Tuesday witnessed multiple potholes while travelling on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway's arterial four-lane bridge. Commuters told mid-day that the brand new craters developed following the arrival of monsoon on Saturday.

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Such pothole-riddled roads are particularly dangerous during rainfall, when these are invisible, owing to accumulated water. Commuters insisted that the material used to build the tar road was of inferior quality, which could not withstand just a few days of rain.

‘Waiting for a death'

Biker Parag R, who frequently uses the bridge, said, "The potholes have developed after just a few days of rain, on this newly opened bridge. I was horrified to notice the dangerous potholes. Are the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials waiting for someone to skid and die? If an accident occurs, the company that built the road on the bridge should be held responsible and penalised."

The potholes on Vasai creek bridge. Pic/Hanif Patel

An auto-rickshaw driver, requesting anonymity, said, "These potholes are extremely dangerous for cyclists and two-wheeler riders, as well as auto-rickshaws that can lose balance and turn turtle. Additionally, the potholes demonstrate how poorly the road was constructed."

‘Blacklist contractor'

RTI Activist Anil Galgali said, "More than Rs 240 crore was spent on building this bridge and this is the condition after just four days of rain. The potholes and craters along the bridge make it quite evident that the contractor utilised materials of inferior grade for construction. I'd like to make a request to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to direct the NHAI to blacklist the contractor and take action against the NHAI employees who were in charge of the bridge's construction."

Potholes on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway's arterial bridge. Pics/Ranjeet Jadhav

‘Because of heavy rain'

Speaking with mid-day, Versova bridge project director Suhas Chitnis said, "Since the past few days, there is a rainfall of more than 105 mm. Due to this, the potholes have developed on the bridge. We are repairing the potholes and once rain stops, we will repair the bridge completely." Police Inspector Devidas Handore of Kashimira Traffic Division said, "We will take photos of the potholes and send them to the NHAI for action and repair it as soon as possible so as to avoid any unwanted Incidents."

Gadkari and the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had performed the stone-laying ceremony for the bridge in January 2018. The project alignment starts on the Surat side of NH-8 and ends on the Mumbai side, totaling a length of 2.25 km. The total length includes the bridge of 917.875 m and both approaches of 1.33 km. The new bridge is only for the traffic towards Gujarat. The old bridge, which is used for traffic towards Mumbai, is in poor condition. It was renovated in 2013-2014.

With inputs from Shirish Vaktania