Two ROBs in Mumbai to be razed, cable-stayed bridges to replace them

Two British-era road over bridges (ROBs) — Reay Road in Byculla and Tilak Road in Dadar — will be demolished, and new cable-stayed three-lane bridges will replace them. The Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDCL), which will execute the development work, began the bidding procedure earlier this month. While MRIDCL has taken up the implementation of reconstruction work, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will bear the construction expenses. The two ROBs — Reay Road across Reay Road railway station joining Byculla to Nagpada and Tilak Nagar ROB near Dadar railway station — render crucial east-west connectivity passing over the railway tracks. As per the officials, 385 m Reay Road ROB and 600 m Tilak Nagar ROB are the busiest bridges in central Mumbai. Before commencing the work, authorities will shut one arm of the bridges and later begin work on the second arm. The bridges will not close entirely at one go. Once one side of the new bridge is built, then the old bridge will be demolished. Officials told the media that they are coordinating with BMC and the traffic police to assure a smooth flow of traffic and no problem for motorists. While Rs 175 crore has been sanctioned for the Reay Road ROB, Rs 375 crore has been permitted for the Tilak Road bridge. An official told the media that bids have been invited for the Reay Road and Tilak Road ROBs, and the computed cost for the two bridges is Rs 118.56 crore and Rs 216 crore, respectively in the bidding process. While the execution period of the Reay Road bridge is 380 days, for the other, it is 640 days. The bridges will be wide, and the size of the extents will be modern and longer to guarantee that there are fewer foundations and underground utilities that won’t be disturbed. Additionally, he said that the work would commence as soon as the bidding process is done in a month. Image Source