Kopri Bridge will add four lanes on either side of the EEH which will ease travel considerably, half the girders to be placed by December
Central Railway and MMRDA officials at a joint meeting on the construction site on Wednesday
Work on the Kopri bridge that will go over railway tracks to widen the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) has started and the first part of the construction that involves placing the bridge over railway lines will be completed in a month.
The Kopri bridge is expected to ease traffic on the highway by adding four lanes on either side. A joint site meeting was conducted by city and railway officials in the presence of the local MP to discuss plans.
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On Wednesday, senior officials from the MMRDA, Central Railway, accompanied by the Thane Mayor Naresh Mhaske and MP Rajan Vichare assessed the situation at the site to expedite work.
Local traffic police, officials of the MSEDCL also joined for co-ordination. "The old bridge had come up in 1965 and was as per the size and specifications based on the Census back then. Work on upgrades and expansion of the new bridge began in April 2018 and was expected to be complete by 2021, but the lockdown delayed the efforts due to shortage of labour. Work has now been speeded up," Vichare said.
He said that of the total 65-metre-long 14 girders, work on placing seven girders in phase one will be completed in December. Once this is done, the road should be ready by February 2021, followed by the next phase of work.
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With the girders of the new Kopri bridge arriving at the site from the workshop at Palghar, the overall plan envisages widening of the 796-metre-long, four-lane bridge to create an eight-lane one in a Rs 250-crore project. The road bridge is the main link between Mumbai and Thane.
2021 Feb
Month when the first phase of work could be completed
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