BANDRA SKYWALK

PROJECT ON :

PREPARED BY :

MAHESH GADDAMEDI 07

NISHIT MEHTA 18

HEMAL SHAH 38

INTRODUCTION :Skywalks or the foot over bridge are an effort to give the

pedestrian much needed space to walk as more and more footpaths were disappearing and there are very few subways available for him. Especially on the roads that lead to the suburban railway station, it would have given him much needed freedom from roadside hawkers and the incessant honking of bumper-to-bumper traffic in congested areas.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which has planned 50 skywalks, or foot over-bridges, is keen on adding more to the number. It has allocated Rs6 billion for the skywalk project and there are proposals to have shopping plazas on some of the walkways as well.

So far so good, but when you review the costs involved in the construction of any one skywalk and compare it with the cost of the new Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), the real truth behind the rush to build more skywalks comes out in open.

NEED FOR BANDRA SKYWALK PROJECTThe ever growing population of Mumbai is putting lots

of pressure on the existing infrastructure especially on the transportation segment. Traffic snarls are common in Mumbai and the rights of pedestrians is often breached by the vehicle owners and hawkers, who have encroached the foothpat. Mumbai suburbs such as Dadar, Bandra, Andheri and Borivali are marked with congestion problem mainly near the station area. The station area is marked with chaos as the commuters both entering and exiting the station premises make a beeline which the existing bridges and entry/exit points cannot handle. Moving / parked vehicles outside the station and hawkers selling their wares add to this congestion and the ultimate result is lack of leg space for people to move.

CONTI…..Bandra Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) is

one such project formulated by MMRDA for Bandra suburb of Mumbai. Bandra SATIS project is high on the agenda of the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project, which aims to improve road network and provide effective traffic dispersal system in Greater Mumbai. The recently commissioned Bandra Skywalk is one such project, which is part of Bandra SATIS.Bandra is one of the most prominent and bustling suburb of Mumbai. It is estimated that on an average more than 5 lak commuters use this station. Out of this around 39 per cent are pedestrians, 32 per cent prefer bus service, 16 per cent travel by auto and the remaining 13 per cent use other modes of transport. The factors which are contributing to more commuter traffic on the eastern side is due to the existence of Bandra Kurla Complex - one of the largest office space complex in Mumbai and the other factor is the location of Bandra Kurla Railway Terminus on the eastern side, which sees both inbound and outbound commuter traffic.

ENVIORNMENT FACTOR:Besides pedestrian safety and convenience, the

chief reasons assigned by urban planners for skywalk development are decrease of traffic congestion, reduction in vehicular air pollution and separation of people from vehicular noise. A number of cities (for example, Spokane, Washington) have given intricate analysis to skywalk systems employing computer models to optimize skywalk layout (Carbon monoxide dispersion analysis in downtown Spokane, ESL Inc., Sunnyvale, (1973))

About the Project:Construction of Skywalk from Bandra

Suburban Station (East) to Kalanagar under ‘Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP). Total length of Skywalk as per Bid document was 1300metre including 3 staircases. The Skywalk is supported on pile foundations, pile cap and structural steel columns/piers. Superstructure is of structural steel truss, pre-cast slab panels as deck slab with flooring of approved tiles. Walkway Project included covering structure with 16mm thick multi wall Polycarbonate sheets.

Role of Das Offshore in this Project:

Our Company was responsible for Engineering, Procurement, Design and Construction of all work and for all details of the work. The work was carried out as per the design prepared by us and approved by MMRDA/PMC.

Challenges faced during execution:The site is in the heavily trafficked area. Major work

was carried out in the night. The tender did not include any soil data which was collected only after award of work. During the execution of the work number of changes were required to be made in the alignment of the skywalk. Also due to sub soil strata of diversified nature changes were made. This called for execution of additional items/works. The GAD (General Arrangement Drawing) had to undergo a total at 5 revisions in order to suit the changes in the alignment as required by MMRDA and also the site conditions-viz. avoiding underground services such as electrical cables, gas lines, storm water drain, etc., As the period given was only 6 months we had to work 24 hours a day.

Material used : (a) Pile foundation – concrete of M 40. (b) Superstructure & columns – structural

steel. (c) Roofing-polycarbonate.

• Project Period: The contract was awarded to DAS on 27th

December 2007 and period of construction was 6 months i.e. by 26th June 2008. We completed the project on 20th June 2008 and it was opened to public on 24th June 2008 by Hon. Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Actual status of the project:The project is totally completed with only minor

punch points to be attended as directed by MMRDA. Submission of final technical documents is in process. The major work pending is provision of staircase near Police Chowky pending for final decision from MMRDA in the light of extension proposed.

Technical maintenance : DAS is not responsible for maintenance of the

Skywalk. However, we are bound by ‘Defects Notification Period’ of 24 months.

Project Facts:

Implementing Agency :Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)

Contractor :Das Offshore Engineering Pvt Ltd, Navi Mumbai

Length / Width :1.3 km / 4 m

Cost :Rs 13.63 cr.

Entry / Exit points (staircases) :Anant Kanekar Road, Indian Oil Building, Nandadeep Garden and Kalanagar Bus Stand

Comparisons of the sea link and skywalks:

Bandra Worli Sea Link Rs90,909 per sq mBandra sky walk Rs26,211 per sq mKalyan sky walk Rs149,821 per sq m

Conclusion:

By simply comparing sealink and skywalk it shows that bandra skywall is cheapest and more useful.So we can build more skywalk across mumbai at various station with the example of bandra skywalk with more cheaper way and useful for traffic control near the station road..