After 12-year delay, road bridge over rail crossing will finally be completed
The Kharegaon level crossing is opened and shut 36 times a day, causing major train delays
The level crossing gate at Kharegaon that has been delaying lakhs of railway commuters every day may finally shut in 2021. Work on the road bridge at Kalwa over the crossing, that has been delayed by 12 years, is expected to be completed by May 2021. This extremely busy crossing gate has been responsible for collapsing the entire Central Railway timetable every day, opening and shutting over 36 times a day, detaining more trains than vehicles.
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"We intend to complete the road bridge by 2021 for sure and have given directives to the administration accordingly," Thane Mayor Naresh Mhaske told mid-day.
What happened
After approvals in 2008, construction work on the bridge began and the Central Railway completed its portion above the tracks in 2017, but the Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC) work progressed slowly due to issues. Officials said the problem arose in the east side as there was no clear land available for approaches and landing of the bridge. The land was disputed, and resolution of the problem took much of the time.
Giving a brief history of the construction, a senior official said "Work on the railway portion was completed in March 2017. On the west side approach, TMC completed 90% work, but rest was on hold due to a court stay. Similarly, on the east side, complete approach work remained pending due to a court stay. It had asked the TMC to deposit a sum of Rs 40 crore. As per TMC records, in November 2019, the required land was purchased by depositing Rs 40 crore and work restarted."
An official said as of October 28, 2020, the status of the bridge is that on the west side approach, only finishing work is now pending. "On the east side approach, out of the five spans of 25 m each, girders of three spans have been launched, other two are cast and ready. Work on the deck slab, parapet and retaining wall is pending," he added.
CR chief PRO Shivaji Sutar said the Kalwa level crossing gate affected punctuality majorly and its closing will happen only after the road bridge is commissioned completely by following due process of approaching the district collector. "But closing of the gate, along with commissioning of the new lines will immensely improve the punctuality and speed up trains for sure," he said.
Siddhesh Desai vice-president of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, who has been spearheading a campaign for the bridge since a decade now said he had lost trust in the TMC assurances. "There have been so many deadlines and so many promises that I only want to see the bridge complete now," he said.
15
Approx original cost of the bridge in crore
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