Mumbai: The BMC will launch the 143- metre second girder to connect the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) and Mumbai Coastal Road early Tuesday morning. In view of favourable climatic conditions, the 2,400 metric tonne ‘bowstring arch’ was brought in a barge to the Worli site on Sunday evening. The first bowstring arch girder of 136 metres was successfully installed on April 26. The first girder connects the southbound lanes of the coastal road to the sea link, while another 143-metre-long girder will be installed to connect the northbound lanes.
The launching of the second girder was planned at the end of the month. However, due to favourable climatic conditions, the girder was transported from the Nhava Gaon in Navi Mumbai to the launch site in Worli on a 25,000 metric tonne barge anchored in the Arabian Sea on Sunday evening, a senior civic official said. “It is the most challenging aspect of connecting the two routes. The first girder was installed with the help of tidal waves on April 26, between 2am and 3.25am.
This time we plan to launch the girder on May 14, between 5.30am and 7am. Once completed, this will be India’s longest arch bridge passing through the open sea,” said an official working on the coastal road project. The launch of the girder will take place in the waters as there is no sufficient land strip available at the site. After the launch, the BMC will carry out the remaining work that includes cement concretisation and waterproofing, which will take nearly a month, an official said.
The southbound carriageway of the coastal road between Worli and Marine Drive was opened for traffic on March 12. The traffic hours on the road were extended from 12 hours to 16 hours between 7am to 11pm and on all days of the week on May 3. The entire road is expected to be opened to traffic by June.
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