99-year-old bridge in south Mumbai closed for traffic

The British-era Frere Road Over Bridge (ROB) located near Grant Road station here in south Mumbai is being closed for traffic from Thursday midnight.

The closure of this east-west connecting ROB is likely to bring hardship for motorists and local residents.

The traffic situation in south Mumbai is already badly affected due to the ongoing metro and other civic works.

"Road users can use Kenedy ROB towards south side and Falkland ROB towards north side for crossing during the time this ROB is closed for re girdering," said Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer of the Western Railway (WR).

The WesternRailway said the Britishe-era ROB, built way back in 1921, will be closed for dismantling as well as re-girdering work.

Bhakar said the estimated cost of re-girdering is Rs 9.60 crore.

Railway authorities said they have already asked owners of the utilities running on this bridge to remove their installations such as cables, wires, and pipelines, at the earliest.

The IIT Bombay had conducted structural audit of this bridge in September 2019 and observed corrosion and pitting in the connections between longitudinal and cross girders.

"After the audit, the IIT had recommended for immediate repair of the girders as emergency measures and suggested for its re-building as a long-term solution," said Bhakar.