Hancock Bridge and Frere ROB to be operational before monsoon; work on Thane-Diva line also gathers speed
Civic officials have been working on readying the launch pad for girders of Hancock Bridge
With the construction of at least three long-pending, crucial projects in the city witnessing significant progress, Mumbaikars can look forward to better connectivity as early as May-end.
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Located between Mazgaon and Sandhurst Road, the much-delayed Hancock Bridge is expected to be ready by May-end.
A Central Railway (CR) official said that major parts of the girders are ready and the civic officials have been preparing the launching pad to put up the girders.
The girders will be launched before the arrival of monsoon and the bridge will be thrown open to public.
A crucial east-west connection for south Mumbai, it was demolished in 2016 after being declared unsafe in 2015.
Frere Road bridge
The other important infrastructure is the Frere Road Over Bridge between Charni Road and Grant Road, which will be ready in two months. The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) during its audit had found corrosion in the connection of the girders and had recommended immediate repairs as a short-term solution and rebuilding as a long-term solution.
The new girders designed by the Western Railway (WR) have been made of high-strength non-corrosive steel.
The existing road is 16.78-metre-wide, while the new bridge will be 17.49-metre-wide with two separate carriageways and pedestrian walkways.
Thane-Diva line
The third project is the 9-kilometre Thane-Diva line, whose construction work is expected to be completed by April-end.
The line will add 100 suburban services on the CR. The project that began 11 years ago will be ready by year-end or early 2021.
Once the construction work is over, linking of the old and new lines, electrification and trials by the Commissioner of Railway Safety will have to be done, a senior official said.
Eleven
No. of years since construction of Thane-Diva line began
2021
Year when Thane-Diva line is expected to be operational
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