Repair works on at 58 bridges: civic body

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday said it had started the inspection and repair works of nearly 58 dilapidated bridges in the metropolis prior to the Thane bridge mishap.

“The repair work on old bridges in the city had already started. We had begun assessment of work on old bridges as per the standing technical advisory committee (STAC) findings. We are aware of it and are acting on it to avoid any untoward incident in near future,” additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev said.

The STAC headed by NV Merani,had in 2007 brought to the notice of BMC,58 bridges in the city,that were “dangerous” and in “unsafe” condition,needing urgent repairs. “We have visited most of those sites (bridges) that were mentioned by STAC as unsafe. We have already begun repair works on a few bridges like Kennedy Bridge in South Mumbai and King Circle Bridge,” chief engineer (Roads and Engineering) Shirdhar Joshi said.