The Central Railway said on Thursday that no block was necessary for lowering the Vidyavihar bridge and denied that the structure is a safety hazard, reiterating that BMC had been awaiting bearings required for the bridge’s lowering since November. 

There is no issue regarding the availability of blocks or unsafe conditions. The first open web girder at the Kalyan end was launched in May 2023 and is now placed on bearings. The second one on the CSMT side was launched in November 2023. Two bearings below the east side end are already fixed, and bearings on the west side are balanced for fixing,” said Central Railway’s CPRO, Dr Swapnil Nila. He added that the open web girder was resting safely on steel stools, and the jacks seen at the site were only placed at the abutment without any load. “Only 45 cm lowering is left for the final position on bearings. All this lowering will be done without any block requirement,” he explained.