Mumbai’s first cable-stayedbridge — the Bandra Worli sealink — has become the latest landmark for the city. If things go as planned, the city will soon have another cable-stayed bridge.
Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd. (MMOPL) that is building the Verosva-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro line is now building a 39-metre high (about 10-storey high) cable-stayed bridge over the Jog flyover, in Andheri (East). The flyover is on the Western Express Highway.
“The Jog flyover is already built at a great height and we had to provide additional clearance over it,” said a senior official of MMOPL. “The height made it necessary that we construct a cable- stayed bridge.”
The 175-metre long cable-stayed bridge will allow the metro line to glide 6.5 metres above the 13 metre high flyover. The bridge will consist of two cable spans, which will hold the bridgetogether.
Construction of the Rs 16-crore bridge has already begun and is expected to be complete by April 2010. The bridge is being constructed with the help of VSL, a Switzerland-based company specializing in construction of cable-stayed bridges.
A cable-stayed bridge is built with one or more columns — called towers or pylons — with cables supporting the bridge’s deck. Cable-stayed bridges help minimise the construction of columns on land and are generally used where there are obstacles.
The need for a cable-stayed bridge over the Jog flyover was felt as the flyover had become an impediment to the construction of the elevated metro line.
MMOPL is building the Rs 2,356 crore Versova Andheri Ghatkopar Line, the first metro line in the city, which is expected to be complete by December 2010.
The upcoming bridge will be much smaller than the Bandra-Worli sealink, which is 5.6-km long. Vidyasagar Setu, built over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, is the longest cable-stayedbridge in India and one of the longest in Asia. It links the city of Howrah to its twin city of Kolkata.
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