Mumbai: The spare parts of the second girder of the Gopalkrishna Gokhale Bridge connecting Andheri East-West have been delayed in coming to Mumbai. The civic administration has also sought an explanation from the contractor in this regard. The administration has also threatened action if the disclosure is not satisfactory. However, by July 31, all the parts of the second girder will be assembled and the work of installing the girders will be completed by September 30, a senior civic official said.
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One side of the Gokhale Bridge was opened 15 months later (February 26) after the construction of the bridge began. In early April, parts of the girders on the other side of the bridge were brought from Delhi to Mumbai.
Once all the parts arrive, it is planned to install girders by May 31, build access roads for the bridge, and open the entire bridge for traffic by December 31. As many as 32 spare parts of the bridge's girders were supposed to arrive in Mumbai by April 22 and the bridge connection was to start from April 30. However, since all these parts are yet to arrive, the work of installing the girders is likely to be delayed.
The next girder launching work will be done only after all the spare parts of the girder arrive. Since cranes have to be erected to install girders, access roads cannot be constructed first.
The civic body has taken up the work of connecting the Gokhale Bridge and the Barfiwala Bridge. The four pillars of the bridge are being lifted with the help of jacks and have been lifted up to 140 km so far. The civic body is confident that the work will be completed by June-end as planned. People will not have to face traffic congestion during monsoon.
After the spare parts are added, the railways will take blocks for work on the tracks, after which girders will be installed and access road works will be carried out, officials said. The factory at Ambala has been certified by the railway administration. In a notice to the contractor, the civic body has asked the contractor as to the reasons why the arrival of spare parts of the girder was delayed.