Mumbai: Vidyavihar rail overbridge girders to be lowered in fortnight

The rail overbridge’s two girders are the longest such structures in India. Pic/Sameer Markande

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started lowering the Vidyavihar rail overbridge's two girders, the longest such structures in India. This task will be completed in about a fortnight after which the civic body will start concreting the bridge. Officials said that the entire project will be finished by mid-2024. According to civic chief I S Chahal's budget speech, the Vidyavihar bridge-related work is 90 per cent complete.

A BMC official involved in the project said the girders are 120 metres long. The distance between the girders and the connector is 1.7 metres. We started the lowering work last week. The distance will be reduced to 1.2 metres. "Then, 0.5-metre-tall bearings will be placed between the pillars and girders. Fixing girders will take at least seven days," an official said.

"We are coordinating with Central Railway authorities to operate a mega block to lower the girders," the official added. "We need to complete this project by mid-2024. After lowering and fixing the girders, the bridge will be concreted, which is the final stage of the work," an official added. The first and second girders were launched in May and November 2023.

The Vidyavihar East-West connector was mentioned in the 1991 city development plan. While the bridge work was started in 2018, it was supposed to be completed by mid-2022. The length of the bridge is 613 metres, and the cost of the project is Rs 178.93 crore.