Thane Municipal Corporation to use laser tech for bridge audit

The civic body’s move comes after other agencies, including the BMC and railway authorities, decided to carry out similar exercises after the March 14 tragedy.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) will conduct a structural audit of the bridges under its jurisdiction and use an advanced Photonic laser method for the work. The move comes less than a month after a foot overbridge near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) collapsed on March 14 leaving at least seven dead and several injured.

A senior officer from TMC said that there are a total 24 bridges under the civic body, but some of these are constructed and maintained by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maharashtra State Road development corporation (MSRDC), while a few bridges are under the state PWD.

ALSO READ | Injured 57-year-old woman dies, toll rises to 7

Only three bridges — Kalwa bridge, Mumbra bypass and Mumbra flyover — are constructed and maintained by the TMC. All these structures are more than 50 years old and need a structural audit, TMC officials said.

The civic body’s move comes after other agencies, including the BMC and railway authorities, decided to carry out similar exercises after the March 14 tragedy.