📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Technology
Gadkari, stuck in Mumbai traffic, unveils tech to replace ageing flyovers
✍️ The Hindu
🗓 14 Sep 2026, 10:36 AM
👁 14
Minister Nitin Gadkari, delayed by about an hour in Mumbai’s rush‑hour traffic, used the occasion to introduce a new construction technology aimed at replacing the city’s deteriorating flyovers.
While traveling through Mumbai’s congested arterial roads, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari was held up for nearly sixty minutes. The unexpected delay gave him a platform to highlight a modular, prefabricated construction system that promises faster, safer replacement of ageing flyovers.
The technology, developed in collaboration with domestic engineering firms, uses pre‑cast components that can be assembled on site within days, cutting down the typical months‑long construction cycles that disrupt traffic. Officials say the method also reduces labour costs and minimizes the need for extensive on‑site welding, enhancing overall safety.
Gadkari stressed that Mumbai’s network of over‑aged flyovers, many built in the 1970s and 1980s, poses a growing risk to commuters. He urged state authorities to adopt the new system in upcoming renewal projects, aiming to complete replacements before the next monsoon season.
The minister’s remarks came as the city grapples with chronic congestion and a backlog of infrastructure upgrades. If implemented, the technology could set a precedent for other Indian metros facing similar ageing bridge challenges.
The technology, developed in collaboration with domestic engineering firms, uses pre‑cast components that can be assembled on site within days, cutting down the typical months‑long construction cycles that disrupt traffic. Officials say the method also reduces labour costs and minimizes the need for extensive on‑site welding, enhancing overall safety.
Gadkari stressed that Mumbai’s network of over‑aged flyovers, many built in the 1970s and 1980s, poses a growing risk to commuters. He urged state authorities to adopt the new system in upcoming renewal projects, aiming to complete replacements before the next monsoon season.
The minister’s remarks came as the city grapples with chronic congestion and a backlog of infrastructure upgrades. If implemented, the technology could set a precedent for other Indian metros facing similar ageing bridge challenges.