31 years later, BMC starts work on missing link between Andheri and Goregaon

The site where the proposed bridge will come up in Andheri on Friday. Pic/Atul Kamble

The civic body has finally prepared an action plan, 31 years after the planning, to build the missing link between Andheri and Goregaon. It has invited a tender for the construction of a cable-stayed bridge over the Goregaon creek, which will reduce travel time by 20-25 minutes, officials told mid-day on Friday.

The bridge, which will be of 500 metre in length, with six lanes, will also reduce traffic congestion on the New Link Road, they added.

"The BMC had proposed to build the bridge of 36.6-meter width in the 1991 development plan. The road between Andheri Lokhandwala to Millat Nagar Nursery was developed under this project decades ago," said a BMC official.

The BMC has finally planned to develop the missing link between Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in Goregaon and the junction of BEST Colony Road and Maulana Ziauddin Bukhari Road.

Also Read: Mumbai sees drop in daily Covid-19 cases, at 679

"This road was proposed in the 1991 development plan as well as the 2034 development plan," the official said.

Satish Thosar, chief engineer, BMC's bridges department, said, "The connector will be a cable-stayed bridge that will be useful in reducing traffic on the New Link Road."

According to the tender document, the construction of the bridge is estimated to cost R418.35 crore. "The work will be completed in four years after the contract is assigned," the official said.

The BMC also aims to develop this bridge as a tourist attraction, by installing LED lights, like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

The 350 hurdles

The project, however, faces hurdles, as 350 shanties in Bhagat Singh Nagar are on the way of the approach road bridge.

"We are working to resolve this issue. Also, as this bridge will be built over the creek, there is a need to take permission from the environment ministry. This permission will be taken by the contractor," the official said.