Mumbai: Deadly gap endangers commuters on WEH flyover

Civic and transport authorities seem to be least interested about the safety of the commuters using the arterial Western Express Highway WEH in Kandivli east A gap which has developed between the two expansion joints of the flyover opposite the Mahindra amp Mahindra near Thakur Complex in Kandivli is posing a grave threat to two and threewheeler riders who use the flyoverAlso Read Cracks in road to BandraWorli Sea Link pose accident threat to twowheelersThe gap is especially harmful to two and threewheeler riders who can face serious damage if the front wheel gets caught in the gap PicsNimesh DaveOn Wednesday midday photographer Nimesh Dave was on his way to work riding his bike on the flyover Just then he saw that a twowheeler rider was about to meet with an accident because of the gap The man was saved at the very last minute Seeing that this can be dangerous for motorists and to two and three wheeler riders Dave immediately called up traffic control and informed them about the sameldquoOver a week ago I saw the authorities putting up a metal sheet above the expansion joint gap to avoid accidents But today when I was on my way to work I saw that the sheet has moved away from its location making the gap visible In fact one bike rider was about to fall and so I immediately stopped and informed the traffic police official about it I also kept a plastic barrier ahead of the gaprdquo said DavePlastic barriers have been placed before the gapMoving awayOver a week ago the authorities started repairing the joint on the southbound carriageway of the flyover A metal sheet around 10cm thick and measuring 6 feet x 8 feet approximately was kept over the expansion joint to cover the gap The sheet was wielded as well so that it does not slip away However despite taking this measure the metal sheet has started moving away from the gapRead Story Bridge the communication gapPrassana A who regularly uses the bridge said ldquoOn Monday when I was returning to Malad I was shocked to see the metal sheet between the gaps The worrying part was that it had started moving away from the gap because of the heavy vehicles that were passing over it The gap between the joints is more than 23 inches and it can be dangerous for two wheelers because if the front or rear tyre goes into the gap not only will the person meet with accident but he might also get killed as there are speeding vehicles coming from behindrdquomidday tried to contact Mumbai Entry Point Limited MEPL mdash the toll operator that maintains some of the flyovers on WEH mdash but we were told that this flyover does not come under their jurisdictionTraffic police saysShrikrishna Katakdhond Senior Police Inspector Traffic from Dahisar said ldquoWe have been facing this problem from January 13 and the gap between expansion joints is very dangerous for the two wheeler riders We donrsquot want any accident to take place and hence we have even informed MMRDA MSRDC BMCrsquos Disaster Management and PWD But all the agencies keep passing the buck and no one is taking a responsibility to permanently repair itrdquoKatakdhond added ldquoAfter making several phone calls the metal sheet was placed over the gap by one of the agencies But it does not remain at that place because vehicles keep passing over it Every three hours or so our traffic police constables have to go at the spot and put the metal sheet over the gap again I think the agency responsible for maintaining the Thakur Complex flyover should repair it or else there are chances of accidents happeningrdquoThe damaged expansion joints have not been a new problem and other old flyovers have faced the same issue as well The sixlane wide and 592 metre long Thakur Complex flyover was constructed at a cost of Rs 25crore by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation MSRDC and was funded by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA The flyover was thrown open for public in the year 2009