Mumbai News: Work Resumes On Carnac Bridge After Girders Delay; Contractor Fined ₹1.8 Crore

Mumbai: After a delay of nearly 15 days, construction on Mumbai’s long-awaited Carnac Bridge finally resumed on Sunday. The pause was caused by a holdup in the supply of crucial girders, which were expected to arrive by April 30 but were delivered only on May 10. As a result, civic authorities have imposed a penalty of Rs 1.8 crore on the contractor for the delay.

Despite this setback, civic officials have confirmed that the original deadline remains unchanged, and the bridge is still on track to open for vehicular traffic by June 10.

Contractor Fined Lakhs For Delay Done Per Day

Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), stated, “We had clearly informed the contractors during last month’s inspection that a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per day would be levied if the girders didn’t arrive by April 30. If delayed beyond May 2, the penalty would double to Rs 20 lakh per day until delivery. Since they arrived on May 10, the total penalty comes to Rs 1.8 crore,” as quoted by the Indian Express.

Currently, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is in the process of installing 30 steel girders, which are essential to support the new bridge structure. These girders form the base of the approach roads and the main carriageway. Once installed, the surface will be levelled and the final road work will begin.

Bangar stated that the delay was avoidable. “We had deputed our engineers to the Daman workshop to oversee the girder fabrication process. The work isn’t particularly complex, and if the reasons for the delay were justified, we wouldn’t have penalized the contractor.”

The original 19th-century Carnac Bridge, one of Mumbai’s oldest bridges built over railway tracks, was demolished in 2022, eight years after a structural audit had declared it unsafe. The bridge had served as a vital east-west link, connecting motorists directly to P D’Mello Road.

New Carnac Bridge To Be Boon For Motorists

The new bridge will be a modern steel superstructure with four vehicular lanes, doubling the capacity of the old two-lane bridge. In addition to improved capacity, it will feature advanced lighting and signage systems, aiming to ease traffic congestion in South Mumbai.

Once opened, the upgraded Carnac Bridge is expected to significantly improve traffic flow and reduce bottlenecks in the city’s southern precincts. Civic officials remain hopeful that the revised construction timeline will be met, ensuring relief to thousands of daily commuters.

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