A 190-year-old bridge, which was constructed during British rule in India, has been demolished in several controlled explosions.

The Amrutanjan Bridge, near Lonavala on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, came crashing down in a cloud of dust on April 5th..

The structure had been in a state of disuse for several years but was a well-known landmark.

The bridge was opened on November 10, 1830.

A nearly 190-year old bridge, which was constructed during the British rule in India, had been demolished through multiple controlled blasts in the western part of the country.

The Amrutanjan Bridge, situated near Lonavala on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, was knocked down on April 5.

The structure had been in a state of disuse for several years but had accumulated an iconic status.

Visuals show officials working around the base of the bridge and fitting it with explosives.

Once done, they clear the area and detonate the bombs, bringing down the ancient structure.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) demolished the nearly 190-year-old bridge to smoothen traffic flow between Mumbai and Pune.

The bridge was opened on November 10, 1830, as a key connector between the two aforementioned cities.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) had started drilling into the piers to fit explosives on Sunday morning.

MSRDC chief engineer said, "Holes had been drilled in 15 to 20 locations on each of the six piers. With simultaneous detonation, the bridge was brought down at 6.20 p.m."

"After the lockdown was announced, they sought permission to pull the bridge down. They already had men and material in the vicinity on account of the Missing Links project of the expressway. The demolition was carried out by Navayuga Engineering, which is building the tunnels for the Rs. 5,300 crore project," he added.

The MSRDC will clear the rubble along with stones in the coming week and also fix any damage that may have been caused to the expressway.

Since the demolition is done during the coronavirus lockdown, authorities didn’t find any difficulty in taking down the bridge as no traffic was observed near the area.

The Raigad district collector had permitted the MSRDC to carry out the demolition work between April 4 and 14.

The diversion of vehicles would be called off before April 14 if the debris is cleared before the given date.