Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway's old bridge razed in Maharashtra

About 600 kg of explosives were used to demolish the bridge on the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway (NH4) in the Chandani Chowk area at 1 a.m. The planned demolition of the bridge piqued the interest of many locals.

Image Credit: ANI; Representational Image

New Delhi: An old bridge built in the early 1990s in Maharashtra's Pune city was demolished in the early hours of Sunday as part of a development project to address the area's frequent traffic jams, officials said. They said 600 kg of explosives were used to demolish the bridge on the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway (NH4) in the Chandani Chowk area at 1 a.m. The planned demolition of the bridge piqued the interest of many locals. People from the surrounding areas gathered at a safe distance from the site to watch the demolition exercise. Following the demolition, a large number of earthmover machines and trucks were used to bring down the hanging structures and remove the debris. Because of the demolition exercise, vehicular traffic was halted and diverted in the area. According to officials, police imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the area to limit mass gatherings near the bridge.

The highway reopened to traffic at 10 a.m. after the debris was removed, according to Pune Collector Rajesh Deshmukh. The bridge was demolished as part of an ambitious Chandani Chowk development project aimed at improving traffic flow at the key intersection. A multi-level flyover will be built at the intersection, and construction is already underway.

"The bridge was demolished at 1 am on Sunday through a controlled blast and everything was executed as per the plan. We pressed earthmover machines, for nails and trucks to clear the debris from the spot," said co-owner of Edifice Engineering, Chirag Chheda, whose team, along with NHAI authorities, demolished the bridge.

According to officials, it is the same company that demolished Noida's Supertech Twin Towers in August of this year. When asked why a portion of the bridge structure had not collapsed completely, one of Edifice's lead engineers said the concrete had been removed due to the blast and only steel bars remained. "Once the steel bars are removed using the machines, the remaining structure will also come down," he said. He stated that the amount of steel used in the bridge construction was greater than expected. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari flew over the ongoing bridge construction at Chandani Chowk on Friday. According to the district administration, sufficient manpower and machinery were mobilised to demolish the bridge and clear the debris in preparation for the restart.

(Inputs from PTI)