Gokhale bridge mess: Metro to the rescue, but will it be enough?

One arm of Gokhale bridge blocked by the BMC, on Friday. Pic/Sameer Markande

The announcement by the BMC to close Andheri's Gokhale bridge, a crucial east-west connector, has commuters bracing for excruciatingly painful traffic snarls from Monday. Anticipating that about 20,000 road users will spill onto its Blue Line 1, the operator of Ghatkopar-Versova Metro line said on Friday that it will keep one train on standby to take on the extra load. But citizens and experts said this won't be of much help.

Mumbai Metro One is prepared to accommodate additional commuters due to the closure of Gokhale bridge. We anticipate the ridership to increase by around 20,000 per day. We also keep a train on standby and will introduce services, if we come across any increase in footfalls at the stations. We had successfully accommodated additional commuters when the bridge was closed in July 2018," said a spokesperson for Mumbai Metro One Private Limited that runs the Ghatkopar-Versova Metro line.

Also read: Mumbai: Motorists will have two alternatives after closure of Gokhale bridge

BMC says the Gokhale bridge has becomes dangerous and must be pulled down. Pic/Nimesh Dave

"This seems like just a gesture. One train will not be enough. If the Metro really wants to help, they should convert all the trains into six-car rakes to avoid rush. That will be of real help throughout the day," said Dhaval Shah, a citizen activist and co-founder of Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens Association.

The Gokhale bridge was partially shut down after a footpath on it collapsed four years ago. While it has already built two connecting overpasses, the BMC now says it will pull down the Gokhale bridge as it has become dangerous, rendering the two approaches useless apart from closing down an important east-west connector.

Transport expert AV Shenoy said that the additional Metro train won't help motorists. "Additional Metro trains will be of some help to commuters. There will be no option for vehicles for east-west connectivity. It will be a problem for heavy and emergency vehicles," Shenoy said.Expressing shock, Shenoy said that the city has lost coordination. "Earlier there used to be inter-coordination meetings where all stakeholders of the city including authorities and us activists used to sit together to discuss projects. But the meetings stopped in 2012. There is a need to revive that."

20,000
No. of extra commuters Blue Line 1 expects from Monday

Alternative routes

The traffic police on Friday night said that the Gokhale bridge would be shut from Sunday midnight. It asked motorists to use these overpasses and underpasses for east-west connectivity:

. Khar subway, Khar
. Milan subway, Vakola
. Capt Gore flyover, Vile Parle
. Andheri subway, Andheri
. Balasaheb Thackeray flyover, Jogeshwari
. Mrinaltai Gore flyover, Goregaon