Maharashtra to get India’s highest road cable-stayed bridge

Maharashtra will soon be home to India highest road cable-stayed bridge which is expected to be completed by 2024.

In a cable-stayed bridge, cables or stays are used to provide support to the deck of the bridge and usually extend from the tower to the deck, giving the appearance of a fan.

The bridge which is being constructed by infrastructure company Afcons as part of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link project, will be 132 m high and 650 m long. It will be the highest for any road project in the country, an official statement by Afcons said.

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Afcons is executing the package-II of the 19-km missing link project, and the package comprises widening of the existing expressway from six lanes to eight lanes, construction of two viaducts, including a cable-stayed bridge in one of the viaducts, approach roads and slip roads.

The missing link, which will take motorists from Khopoli directly to the Sinhagad Institute ahead of Lonavala will reduce the distance of the expressway by 6 km and is aimed for completion by 2024.

Afcons project manager Ranjit Jha said at present, construction work of the foundation, piers and pylons is being undertaken.

The project, however, encounters several geological, transportation, and extreme engineering challenges. For the widening of the existing expressway from six lanes to eight lanes, blasting for hill cutting has to be carried out in allotted slots by the authorities, the statement said.

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The package-2 includes widening of 5.86 km existing expressway, including lanes, bridges, vehicular and passenger underpasses, construction of 10.2 km of approach roads and the bridge, Afcons said in the statement.

(With inputs from agencies)