Mumbai: Sion ROB dismantling postponed due to HSC-SSC exams, central railway announces

Sion ROB. Pic/Satej Shinde

Central Railway (CR) on Thursday announced that it has postponed the dismantling work of the Sion bridge in central Mumbai due to ongoing and approaching HSC and SSC exams. The date of commencement of dismantling the old road overbridge (ROB) will be notified later, it said.

The British-era ROB between Matunga and Sion railway stations is a vital east-west connector and needs to be dismantled and rebuilt, falls on the Central Railway network. The reconstruction of 110-year-old structure, will pave way for the fifth and sixth railway lines.

The agencies involved in the work- Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Mumbai Police, Traffic Department and Central Railway together decided to postpone the dismantling of the ROB after discussions, CR said in a press release.

The work to dismantle the ROB was postponed earlier this year as well. Over the past few years, CR has dismantled British-era ROBs at Sandhurst Road and Carnac Bunder in the south Mumbai for reconstruction.

The CR had decided to disallow vehicles from plying the Sion ROB from February 28. While, the bridge was to be shut on January 19, the move was postponed after MP Rahul Shewale intervened and asked railway officials to first discuss the possible inconvenience faced by locals with the state government authorities.

"The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) had, in 2020, declared that the bridge was extremely dangerous as its life was ending.. The traffic police and Mumbai Municipal Corporation have already put up notices around the bridge informing motorists about alternative roads.

CR aims to complete the reconstruction of the bridge at Sion station in 24 months from the time of its demolition. An amount of Rs 23 crore towards the cost of the project will be borne by CR, while Rs 26 crore will be borne by the Municipal corporation. The portion of the structure over the railway premises is around 40 metres long. This will be increased to 51 metres.

This bridge is a crucial connector between the Eastern Express Highway and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Dharavi. Lakhs of commuters use this connector to travel between the eastern and western parts of the city.