Mumbai: BMC sets yet another deadline for Gokhale bridge

Gokhale bridge was closed to traffic in the first week of November 2022. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has declared yet another deadline to open the Gokhale bridge in Andheri for traffic. According to civic officials, two-way single lane traffic will be allowed on the bridge by February 15, 2024. This is the 5th time BMC has set a deadline for Gokhale bridge.

On Wednesday, civic chief I S Chahal met Western Railway General Manager Ashok Kumar Mishra regarding the Gokhale bridge construction at the Western Railway headquarters. MLA Amit Satam, Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu, and Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ulhas Mahale were also present during the meeting. Chahal demanded a sufficient time block for the launching of the girder. Ashok Kumar Mishra suggested that the BMC submit a complete plan of girder launching and the blocks needed.

According to a BMC official, a 100-meter-long girder weighing 1,300 tonnes is currently assembled at around 7.5 meters over the pillar height. "During the launching of the girder, it will move over the railway portion and then need to be lowered down to the height of the pillar. As the girder is heavy, it can be lowered at the rate of just 15 cm in a 1-hour block," the official said, adding that this is a first-of-its-kind project in India wherein the girder needs to be pulled down. The railway officers have assured the BMC that they will consider their proposal.

The Gokhale bridge has been closed to traffic since the first week of November 2022. According to news reports, the BMC set the first deadline to open single-lane traffic for May 2023, followed by July 2023, September 2023 and then 2023 year-end. However, on Thursday the civic body officially declared one side of the bridge will open for two-way traffic by February 15, 2024. On Monday I S Chahal visited the Gokhel Bridge site.

"This is probably the 5th deadline of the timeline for reopening and is very disappointing," said activist Dhaval Shah. "It's students' exam time in February
and travel will be a very difficult task for them. Also, this delay will increase pollution as commuters need to travel for more time and longer distances to Andheri East and West. All in all, it's bad news for a million-plus residents of the most dense neighbourhoods of Mumbai city."

05
No. of deadlines set by BMC to open bridge