The steel girder meant for the bow-string arch bridge connecting the Mumbai Coastal Road to the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) arrived in Worli on Thursday. The 136-metre girder weighs 2,000 metric tonnes. It was transported via the Arabian Sea from the Nhava Sheva jetty in Raigad, The Indian Express reported.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), this will claim the title of India’s lengthiest arch bridge, traversing through open sea waters.
How will the girder be fixed?
An official said that the girders arrived in Mumbai around 4 am on Thursday. “At first the barges will be affixed and centered in a particular position using winches to prevent them from drifting away. After they are centered, they will be hoisted and erected on Thursday night when tidal conditions are neither high nor low,” they said, adding that the process of launching the girders will take over two hours.
Once the girders are launched, they will concretise to lay asphalt roads, following waterproofing. The officials said that the balance work will take around one month. “This girder will be the main access point for vehicles to enter and exit the coastal road from BWSL. Launching the girder will mark the end of the project’s final step,” the official said.
The girder was earlier supposed to be launched between April 18-19. However, it was pushed to a little later due to Mumbai’s heatwave.
Girders are prefabricated structures and their launch is being taken up in waters as there is not enough space on land in Worli. The construction of this bridge has posed a major challenge for civic authorities in their effort to finish the MCRP project.