Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated the railway overbridge (ROB) on February 9, which coincidentally is also his birthday. MLA Pratap Sarnaik and the then metropolitan commissioner S V R Srinivas were also present.
A stretch of the bridge, which is made of cement concrete, started deteriorating after just a few weeks of rain. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had undertaken the widening of Kopri ROB to ease congestion on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH).
However, an MMRDA official said, “The bridge portion over the rail crossing was constructed by Central Railway, but funded by the MMRDA. The concrete road portion where the cracks have appeared was constructed by Central Railway.” Central Railway did not respond to mid-day’s request for comment.
When the mid-day photojournalist on Monday visited the bridge to take photos of the damaged surface towards Thane, a person at the site tried to stop him even as workers were repairing the damage. Commuters have questioned the quality of the construction.
Ankoor A, a resident of Thane, said, “I was astonished to find cracks and potholes on the surface of the Kopri ROB on Sunday, and even the cement part had cracks. What can we anticipate for other roads in the state if this is the condition of an ROB inaugurated by the chief minister?”
Hitu Panchale, another motorist, said, “Within just five months, the state of the Kopri ROB has begun to deteriorate, which indicates that a compromise was made while constructing the road. The contractor and the MMRDA employees in charge of this project should be held accountable.”
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