Only two of the 21 flyovers and bridges earmarked by the municipal corporation as part of a Rs 41-crore mastic asphalt resurfacing plan will be repaired before the rains arrive. The other 19, which include some of the busiest flyovers in Mumbai, will remain potholed, thanks to BMC's delayed approval of the project and a technical hitch
Unless you drive a pickup truck, this is going to be a really bumpy monsoon on Mumbai’s roads. Forget tarmac-quality surfaces that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been promising for new roads, as many as 21 of the city’s mostused flyovers such as the Mahalaxmi bridge, the Priyadarshini bridge on Napean Sea Road, the Kemps Corner flyover and theCurrey Road flyover won’t even get their potholes filled properly before the rains.
Pic/Ashish Rane
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This, despite the BMC boasting of an approved Rs 41 crore plan to fully repair 21 bridges across Mumbai.u00a0The reason? A technical hitch - which translated means, the BMC sat on the proposal for too long before approving it - resulted in most bids coming in too late for work to begin before the rains.
After facing flak for bad roads and bridges last year, the had decided to fill potholes across Mumbai a month before monsoon and also resurface 21 bridges at the cost of Rs 41 crore using the impressive-sounding Mechanised Mastic Asphalt technology.
However, its plan to re-surface these bridges before the rains has come a cropper.u00a0The bridges in question are located across the island city as well as the eastern and western suburbs and most of them (See box) have not been resurfaced since 2005.
A case of bad planning
According to documents available with SUNDAY MiD DAY the BMC invited bids for resurfacing these bridges in March 2012 and finalised the contractors in April 2012. Subsequently the proposal was put up before the BMC’s standing committee in July 2012 for approval but some corporators suspected the bids were not above the board and demanded a re-tender. The civic administration then reinvited tenders through an e-tendering process.
Perhaps the contractors were not net savvy or they were not interested any more. But the response this time was tepid. The revised proposals came up before the standing committee again only in December 2012. It was subsequently cleared by the committee, but apparently a little too late for work to begin by May!
“There was a procedural delay. Otherwise all bridges would have got new and strong surfaces before the rains. Now we can only begin work after the monsoons,” said Rahul Shewale, chairman of the standing committee.
No potholes for four years?
Incidentally this is the first time the BMC would have used the mechanised mastic asphalt technology for resurfacing of bridges. In this technology, entire roads are laid mechanically instead of the current process of manually laying the surface. Justifying the expenditure, an official from BMCs road department said while this is a costly technology, it will keep roads pothole-free for at least three to four years.
No takers
Only two of the 21 flyovers will now see any repair work before June 15 - the Tilak bridge in Dadar and the TH Kataria bridge in Matunga. Four of the remaining 19 bridges - JSS Bridge in Dadar (E), Keshavsut Bridge in Dadar (W), the Elphinstone Road bridge and the Currey Road bridge - have received no bids at all and may not be repaired even after the monsoons.
An officer from the roads department on the condition of anonymity said, “The mechanised mastic asphalt might be a bit slippery so to get ensure vehicles have better grip, we are putting anti-skidding material on the surface.”
The opposition, meanwhile ,lashed out at the BMC for its failure to repair roads. “This will be a terrible monsoon for motorists as contractors have not even been appointed for various works and even where they have been appointed, work has not yet started,” said Dilip Lande, MNS leader in the BMC.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) too is not optimistic about the condition of roads and bridges. “No proper pre-monsoon work has been done on roads,” said Dhananjay Pisal, NCP leader in the BMC. Aseem Gupta, additional municipal commissioner was not available for comment.u00a0
List of bridges that will be resurfaced after October:
>>u00a0Mahalaxmi bridge (above the railway station)
>>u00a0Gloria bridge (Byculla East)
>>u00a0Kemps Corner bridge
>>u00a0Princess Street bridge (Marine Lines)
>>u00a0French bridge (Grant Road)
>>u00a0Saint Merry bridge (Byculla East)
>>u00a0Nana Fadnavis bridge (Wadala)
>>u00a0Lower Parel bridge (above railway station)
>>u00a0Priyadarshini bridge (Napean Sea Road)
>>u00a0Govandi bridge
>>u00a0YK Tember bridge (Chembur)
>>u00a0Veena Nagar bridge (Mulund)
>>u00a0Gokhale bridge (Andheri)
>>u00a0Ratan Nagar bridge (Dahisar)
>>u00a0Gorai Charkop bridge
The lucky two
>>u00a0Tilak bridge (Dadar TT)
>>u00a0TH Kataria bridge (Matunga)
No bidders
>>u00a0JSS bridge (Dadar East)
>>u00a0Kavi Keshavsut bridge (Dadar West)
>>u00a0Elphinston bridge
>>u00a0Currey Road bridge
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