The 136m-long steel girder bow-string arch structure was commissioned by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to connect the Mumbai Coastal Road with the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai’s Worli peninsula. The coastal road, an under construction eight-lane expressway spanning 29.2km, is expected to reduce travel time between south Mumbai and the western suburbs from two hours to 40 minutes. The newly installed bridge, measuring 18m to 21m in width, will accommodate southbound traffic.
The project is being delivered by a joint venture comprising the Hindustan Construction Company and the Hyundai Development Corporation. Freight Wings is subcontractor.
The bridge was erected in the early hours of 26 April during a swift night-time operation that lasted just 1.5 hours, as reported locally. Due to the absence of suitable land strips for staging launching activities in Worli, the contractor opted for the float-over method for installation.
A 11,000t barge transported the prefabricated bridge to site, while installation was carried out using a 25,000t barge. Initially, the barge was secured and positioned using winches to prevent drifting. Subsequently, when tidal conditions were optimal – neither high nor low – the bridge was hoisted and erected, leveraging the natural recession of the tides to aid in final positioning.
Operations commenced at 2.20am, with the barge being pulled between the piers. Soon after, the engineering team began dismantling the barge to allow the bridge to make contact with the piers. Initially, half of the structure’s load was transferred before the remaining load followed suit.
Currently, concrete casting is in progress on the structure, with the subsequent steps of asphalt laying and waterproofing scheduled to commence thereafter. A second 143m-long arch bridge, designed for northbound traffic and weighing 2,400t, is scheduled to be erected using the same methodology by the end of May, possibly as early as 15 May if tidal conditions are favourable. According to local news sources, officials anticipate finishing works on the southbound bridge to conclude by the end of June.
