The dreaded potholes are back on the Keshavsuth Udan Bridge, even though the civic body used resistant geopolymers to resurface it in August last year
The monsoons are months away, and the rains haven’t even had a go at the city’s fragile and patched up roads. Yet, the crucial Keshavsuth Udan Bridge outside Dadar (W) station is already showing dangerous signs of dilapidation.
This, after it was repaired using a ‘new geopolymer technology’, just six months ago (‘It’s geopolymers vs city’s potholes’, August 9, MiD DAY).
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Crater attack: The potholes on the Dadar bridge show that BMC did a shoddy job the first time around
After promising to fill up all potholes on Mumbai roads by September last year, the civic body faced the task of dealing with hundreds of the lethal undulations dotting the city surfaces. It now appears that BMC, in its desperation to keep its word, did a rushed job, filling in the holes hastily to provide temporary relief to motorists.
In spite of claiming that it had used a different cold mixture to fill the many craters in the stretch, touted as being more resistant to rain than the conventionally used hot mixture, cracks and undulations have begun to resurface prematurely, months ahead of the monsoons, which annually takes its toll on the health of the city’s roads.
Rising above the cluttered Dadar lanes strewn with their vegetable and flower vendors outside the Dadar station, the Keshavsuth Udan Bridge, otherwise known as the Dadar Bridge, presents a classic example of a job half-done.
A quick look at the surface makes it clear that it has been patched up here and there, but a majority of the bridge surface, especially at the Matunga end, is dotted with small to medium-sized holes. The bridge leads into Senapati Bapat Marg, and is crucial for commuters moving between Mahim and Mahalaxmi.
According to a BMC survey on potholes conducted late in August last year, 1,700 new potholes surfaced in 308 locations during the monsoon.
Rahul Shewale, BMC’s standing committee chairman, said, “The bridge in question was partially renovated last year on a single-pilot basis, and maintenance for the entire length of the bridge is still pending. We have shortlisted three bridges across Mumbai that we plan to work on before the monsoon, and Keshavsuth Udan is one of them.”
He added, “The roads will undergo a process of resurfacing, consisting of asphalting, and an addition of a mastic layer, ahead of the rains.”u00a0
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