After a delay of two years, civic body to begin resurfacing work on city's three major bridges.

After a delay of over two years, the BMC will finally undertake resurfacing work on three bridges, the Curry Road bridge, Keshavsoot bridge and Janganath Shankar Sheth (JSS) bridge in the city after monsoons. The second phase of the resurfacing will cost Rs. 9 crores to the civic body and will be presented to the standing committee on Wednesday for a final approval.

'The tenders were delayed because we failed to get a good response earlier. We have finalised a contractor for the work and will begin the resurfacing by October. In the interim, we have been maintaining the bridges by undertaking pothole-repairs to ensure a smooth ride for the commuters,' said S O Kori, chief engineer, bridges department.

The BMC had undertaken repair works for 21 bridges in October last year. While the works for the rest of the 18 bridges were completed in the first phase in the beginning of the year, the resurfacing of the other three bridges remained. 'We undertook works immediately after monsoons last year. The new resurfaced bridges come with a guarantee period of five years,' Kori added.

The BMC has spent Rs. 30 crore on the work for these major bridges spread across the island city, eastern and western suburbs. The highest allocation of funds was for the Mahalaxmi bridge, where the corporation spent about Rs. 4.86 crores followed by the Lower Parel Bridge which cost roughly Rs. 3.53 crores.

The bridges revamp project has caused considerable inconvenience for commuters in various parts of the city, especially when work was executed on the Byculla bridge and Kemps Corner bridge, both of which cost the corporation around Rs. 2 crore each. In the resurfacing and repair work, the civic bridges department has employed the latest mastic-asphalt technology to create more durable surfaces. The use of this material was made mandatory in 2012 based on standing technical advisory committee's (STAC) recommendations for the civic roads and bridges department.

The mechanised mastic-asphalt is similar to cement but has bitumen content which makes it a tougher material for potholes to form.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS