Carnac Bridge reconstruction to be done by June 10

MUMBAI: Despite delays in the arrival of key girders and a penalty imposed on the contractor of Rs 1.80 crore, the BMC remains optimistic about completing the Carnac Bridge reconstruction by June 10, next month.

Civic officials said the girders, which were to arrive by April 30, finally arrived over the weekend. While valuable time was lost, the damage is “not irreversible”.When delays came to the notice of the civic body, an engineer was stationed at the manufacturing plant in Daman last week to oversee dispatch and ensure timely delivery.A BMC official said, “When the girders failed to arrive on April 30, we began imposing penalties on the contractor from May 1. For the first two days, the penalty was Rs 10 lakh per day. From the third day onward, up to May 10, the penalty increased to Rs 20 lakh per day, bringing the total to Rs 1.8 crore. The plate girders, which form part of the bridge’s solid approaches, finally arrived on May 10. We are keen on completing the works on the bridge by June 10, as with the arrival of the monsoon thereafter, we may not be able to carry out works.”As part of this project, the task of moving the 550 metric tonne south-side iron girder on October 19, 2024, and the north-side iron girder from Jan 26 to 30, 2025, into the railway area was already completed.The Carnac Bridge, before its demolition, served as a vital connector between South Mumbai and the eastern suburbs, linking commuters to the Eastern Freeway and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, which connects to Navi Mumbai.The 150-year-old bridge, first built in 1866-67, was kept off-limits for heavy vehicles in August 2014, as the bridge began to show signs of age.After the pandemic-induced restrictions eased, the bridge was pulled down in 2022, after a structural audit declared the bridge unfit for daily usage. The demolition lasted nearly 18 hours.