Sion, March 12: Mumbai will witness heavy traffic snarls on Eastern Express Highway as Sion flyover is scheduled to be shut from April. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to start repair works on the Sion flyover by mid-April, bringing traffic woes to Mumbaikars. Commuters who take the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) may be put to a lot of inconvenience as the vehicular movement across the city will be crippled due to the construction work in the city.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the MSRDC is set to finalize the tenders by the end of this month. The report further states that after the tender is finalised, the work of replacing 170 bearings on the Sion flyover will begin by mid-April.  As per details available, the repair work is believed to cost about Rs 5 crore and may take about six months to finish.

Commuters are bound to face inconvenience as roads will be jammed due to heavy traffic in the country’s commercial capital. The HT report further states that the repair work will help in controlling movement between the piers and the girders of the bridge. It must be noted that the flyover required remedial measures as it had damaged bearings and expansion joints. The Sion flyover is an important connector for people travelling towards south Mumbai. It was constructed in 2000 at a cost of about Rs 31 crore.

In the last month, the maintenance work of the Vashi creek bridge was carried out from February 2 to 21. The traffic on the Vashi creek bridge was diverted for 15 to 20 days. During the maintenance work, all vehicles going from Panvel-side to Mumbai used the Mumbai-Panvel lane while vehicles coming from Mumbai were diverted on the old bridge.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 12, 2018 11:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).