Plan to widen Kopri ROB hits funds hurdle

THANE: Widening of the Kopri rail over bridge (ROB) has hit a financial roadblock.
Over 10 years after the state government proposed to widen the ROB, railway authorities recently gave a nod for the execution of the project. But the cost has gone up by a whopping 900% in the 10 years and is likely to increase if there is further delay in commissioning the project.In 2005, the cost was pegged at Rs 9 crore as against the current estimated of Rs 90 crore.
The ROB is a crucial link on the Eastern Express Highway. But when the narrow bridge merges with the eight-lane Eastern Express Highway, it leads to bottlenecks. At times, during peak hours it takes nearly 10 to 20 minutes to cross the stretch of around 250 metres. The railway department nod is mandatory for the project as the bridge crosses a railway property.
“Public works department (PWD) has informed the government about its inability to execute the project at such high cost,” said a senior PWD officer.
For the past few years, PWD has been claiming that it is finding difficult to maintain existing roads within the budgetary provision made for the department and undertaking any new projects would further bleed the department.
Aware that rise in vehicular population has led to more traffic issues and problems would escalate further if no solution was found, BJP MLA from Thane city, Sanjay Kelkar, has taken up the subject with the chief minister.
“In my letter, I have asked chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to instruct MMRDA officials to execute the project,” Kelkar said.
The chief minister is the chairperson of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
According to PWD officials, the project was delayed due to a lack of consensus over its design between the railway authorities and state agencies.
“Engineers from the railway department always disputed with the design prepared by engineers attached to the state government. Nearly six times the design of the bridge had to be changed due to lack of consensus between the two government agencies,” said a PWD official.
Meanwhile, motorists too want the state government to push for the project rather “abandoning or holding it due to an escalation in cost”.
“Nearly 10 years have been wasted in getting permissions. Any further delay in arriving at a decision on who should fund the project would result in further escalation of cost. Hence, without any delay, the chief minister should take a decision on widening the Kopri bridge. Once the project is complete, it will ease commute for motorists who ply on the Eastern Express Highway regularly,” said Mrinal Sapre, a Thane resident.