Byculla bridge may be opened in the evening today

BMC says repair work on Gloria Bridge has been completed and officials may allow traffic onto the northbound carriageway after conducting tests

Commuters to south Mumbai can expect their return journey to be less stressful. Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation say the Gloria Bridge at Byculla may be opened for traffic today.

40 labourers worked in each 8-hour shifts to repair the bridge

The bridge, which went under repairs on May 1, threw traffic out of gear at peak hours every day the next day (May 1 being a holiday). This paper has reported on the chaos that ensued when BMC and the Traffic cops forgot to inform commuters about the closure of bridge.

It was a horrid day for commuters on May 2, when they discovered the bridge had been shut for repairs. With the Traffic cops and BMC failing to inform them, traffic lined up all the way to Parel. Pics/Datta Kumbhar and Sayed Sameer Abedi

The bridge was put under repairs for work on expansion of its 32 joints. Authorities also resurfaced the road on the flyover. While the repair work on joints took 5-6 days, curing of the joints is currently ongoing.

“Though the repair work has been done before time, curing is also an important part of the job,” said S O Kori, chief engineer of the BMC’s Bridges department.

He also added that the civic authorities would conduct strengthening tests on the structure. If the results are found to be favourable, the bridge would be thrown open to vehicles in the evening today.

It cost Rs 60 lakh to refurbish the joints – the whole project, including resurfacing that was completed last month, cost around Rs 2 crore. 40 labourers on contract worked in each 8-hour shift to complete the job.

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