Vashi Bridge

The Vashi Bridge, also known as Thane Creek Bridge or the Second Thane Creek Bridge, is a road bridge across Thane Creek, which connects the city of Mumbai to the Indian mainland at Navi Mumbai. Opened in 1997, the bridge links the suburb of Mankhurd in Mumbai with Vashi in Navi Mumbai, the satellite city of Mumbai. It is one of four entry points into Mumbai (the other three being the Airoli Bridge upstream across Thane Creek, Mulund, and Dahisar), and handles traffic directed towards the region to the south and east of Mumbai.

Vashi Bridge
New Vashi Bridge
Coordinates19.061226°N 72.971612°E / 19.061226; 72.971612
CarriesSion Panvel Highway
CrossesThane Creek
LocaleMankhurd, Mumbai
Vashi, Navi Mumbai
Official nameVashi Bridge
Other name(s)Thane Creek Bridge
Second Thane Creek Bridge
Preceded byAiroli Bridge
Followed byMumbai Trans Harbour Link
Characteristics
Total length1837.5 m
History
Constructed byU. P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd.
Opened1997
ReplacesFirst Thane Creek Bridge
Location

The bridge replaces the first Thane Creek Bridge, built in 1973,which still stands to the north of the current bridge, but is closed to traffic. A third bridge is currently under construction and is expected to open in August 2024.

There is also a railway bridge to the south of both road bridges.

History
Vashi Bridges, old (TCB-1) and new (TCB-2)

First bridge

In 1959, a study group for Greater Bombay, headed by S.G. Barve, proposed constructing a rail-cum-road bridge over the Thane Creek in order to expand industrial development areas and accommodate the.city's growing population.[1] In the 1960s, civil engineer Adi Kanga and others proposed building Navi Mumbai to help decongest Mumbai.[2]

The first bridge, conceived by Adi Kanga, was opened in 1973.[1] The two-lane road bridge named Thane Creek Bridge 1 (TCB-1) is 1,837 metres (6,027 ft) long.[3] The bottom side of the prestressed girders of some spans developed corrosion cracks within two years of the bridge opening to traffic.This led to a series of extensive repairs including external prestressing.[4] The railway bridge was opened on 9 May 1992.[5]

The first bridge is currently closed to traffic.[1][6]

Second bridge

The Thane Creek Bridge 2 (TCB-2) was proposed in 1987 to replace the first bridge. The bridge was built by the U.P. State Bridge Corporation and opened to traffic in 1997.[7][1][3] It is a box girder bridge, carrying a 6-lane dual carriageway, with a length of 1,837.35 metres (6,028.1 ft). It has several unique features in its construction and design, with emphasis on durability and a formal QA/QC programme.[8]

Proof Consultants were appointed to oversee each aspect of planning, design and construction. Open foundations were taken into the bedrock with foundation concrete being laid in the dry, with the sea water being pumped out using submersible pumps. The piers in the intertidal zone were protected by epoxy coal tar paint painted on 6 millimetres (0.24 in) thick m.s. plate which was considered as a lost shuttering. The superstructure was a P. S. C. box girder, one for each carriageway, constructed using balanced cantilever cast-in-situ segments. It was constructed by U. P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd., and won the most outstanding concrete structure award.[8]

NRS AS, a manufacturer specializing in comprehensive bridge construction equipment, provided the U.P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd. with a total of 12 pairs of 'BRIDGEBUILDER' FORMTRAVELER (BB FT) equipment specially designed for Free Cantilever Construction.[9] These supplied BBFT units belonged to the 'Type II-A12-51' category, boasting impressive specifications:

  • Load Capacity (Tons): 156
  • Maximum Road Width (meters): 3.35
  • Maximum Box Width (meters): 7.5
  • Maximum Segment Length (meters): 5

Third bridge

The Thane Creek Bridge 3 (TCB-3) was proposed in 2012. It will consist of two separate 3-lane bridges constructed on either side of TCB-2. The third bridge will have a 1.837 km (1.141 mi) main span and 1.25 km (0.78 mi) of approach roads.[1] The project will be executed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), with MSRDC being the nodal agency.[6] Larsen and Toubro was awarded the contract to build TCB-3 in September 2018.[10]

Work was scheduled to begin in September 2018, however, it was delayed by permissions required to cut down an estimated 430 mangroves across 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres).[11][12][13] The Bombay High Court granted permission for construction in January 2020.[14] Works were also delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction began on 29 October 2020. Around 15% of the total project work had been completed by April 2022,[1] and 33% by November 2022.[13] Around 51% of the work had been completed by June 2023.[15] The bridge is expected to open in August 2024.

Bridge locations

The old bridge lies just to the north of the present Vashi Bridge, and the railway bridge further south (labelled "Mankhurd Vashi Railway Bridge"), can be seen on the map.[16]

The Airoli Bridge is further upstream across Thane Creek, while the 21.8 km (13.5 mi) Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is under construction further south.

See also

References
  1. "The bridge on Thane Creek". The Indian Express. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. "Visionary who helped create a city". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  3. "2 three-lane bridges to be built along Thane creek bridge". Hindustan Times. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. Naik, Yogesh. "High Court clears way for third bridge over thane creek". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  5. "Mumbai: Suburban services extension up to Vashi on harbour line completes 30 years". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  6. Reporter, Staff (21 May 2018). "Vashi bridge expansion a step closer". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. Assainar, Raina (21 January 2018). "Vashi bridge to be partially closed". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  8. "Welcome To UP State Bridge Corporation Ltd". Bridgecorporationltd.com. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  9. Singh, Brijesh (20 September 2023). "REFERENCE LIST "BRIDGEBUILDER" FORMTRAVELER (BB FT) For Free Cantilever Construction, Thane Creek Bridge (UP State Bridge Corp.)" (PDF). www.nrsas.com. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  10. "L&T Construction bags orders worth Rs 2,654 crore from MSRDC". The Economic Times. 3 September 2018. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  11. "Thane Creek Bridge-III: Overall 10 per cent of construction done so far; project to be ready by 2023". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  12. Naik, Yogesh (4 November 2020). "1.5 hectares of mangroves to be cut for new Vashi bridge". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  13. "Changing City: Thane Creek Bridge 3 will help disperse traffic, ensure hassle free traveling experience". The Indian Express. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  14. Naik, Yogesh (13 January 2020). "High Court clears way for third bridge over thane creek". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  15. "Third Vashi creek bridge 51% done, to smoothen traffic between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai". The Times of India. 21 June 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  16. "Vashi Bridge". Google Maps. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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