2023–the end to a long, long wait

Delisle Road bridge will rise from ashesThe crucial south Mumbai road traffic link Delisle Road bridge also known as the Lower Parel bridge is likely to be opened before the next monsoon by April 2023The bridge work was divided into two partsThe section on the railway line was the responsibility of Western Railway WR whereas the BMC is constructing three approachesmdashnorth and south parts of N M Joshi Marg and one arm of Ganpatrao Kadam Road After placing girders over all rail lines in September 2022 WR handed over the bridge to the BMC on October 4 after which civic teams started working on the approaches The dismantling work of the spans over railway tracks was completed in February 2019 in a record five months This was followed by the dismantling of abutments in June that year after the removal of encroachments by the BMCWR then awarded the contract for rebuilding the railway portion at a cost of R87 crore and the physical task of laying foundations was taken up after the monsoon in November The foundation work on the east side was completed in May 2020 while the raft foundation on the west and east side was laid in June 2020 and January 2021 respectively Once the foundations were ready the girders were placed above rail tracks in September 2022 The bridge timelines were hampered by the pandemic and design changes The two key reasons for the delay are the unavailability of industrial oxygen which was diverted for medical use amid the pandemic and the absence of skilled labour after April 2021 due to the unprecedented nationwide lockdown19year wait for Uran line to endOne of Maharashtrarsquos most delayed projects the 19yearold 27km stretch of the SeawoodsBelapurUran rail line may finally see the light of day in 2023 The line offers suburban rail connectivity to the upcoming Navi Mumbai airportWork is carried out on the KharkoparUran stretch of the much delayed SeawoodsBelapurUran rail line in October 2022The railway project is being done on a 6733 costsharing basis between the Central Railway and the City and Industrial Development Corporation CIDCO The new line will connect to the existing harbour line at two points One arm will go to Nerul and the other to Belapur Currently suburban trains operate on about 12 km of the 27km line up to Kharkopar Phase two of the project from Kharkopar to Uran had seen several challenges including land acquisition and forest clearances which are now being dealt with jointly by Central Railway and CIDCO Work had again stopped in June 2022 due to local opposition from villagers following a dispute with CIDCO over land compensation Work finally resumed in October 2022 under police protectionThe KharkoparUran stretch will have five stations two major bridges 41 minor bridges two road underbridges and four road overbridges Major ongoing construction activities include work on a cover over platform at Rajanpada station foundation and substructure work at Nhava Sheva Dronagiri and Uran stations subway work at Uran bridge foundation work and stressing and lowering of girders at bridge 7982 Both arms will converge at a junction point called Kile about 3 km from Nerul and Belapur and the straight double line will continue till UranOnce the line is ready passengers should be able to reach Uran from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT in about one hour and 45 minutes The existing freight line to Uran is about 9510 km from CSMT and the new line will pass through a shorter route nearly halving the original distanceAlso Read A highstakes year ahead for state politicsDoubledeckers to help city keep its coolIndiarsquos first electric doubledecker bus which was formally launched in Mumbai in August 2022 by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari may finally be in service by 2023 The bus manufactured by Switch Mobility has been delayed due to permission issues at the transport officesIndiarsquos first doubledecker ebus manufactured by Switch Mobility PicAshish RajeThe bus is the worldrsquos first standardfloor airconditioned electric doubledecker with a wide door on the rear overhang and a rear staircase The doubledecker has a lightweight aluminium body which offers a high passengertoweight ratio and a competitive cost per km per passenger The new buses also have automatic doors CCTV cameras and belong to the BharatVI category with an automatic transmission In the wake of an article by midday in 2020 on the BEST lining up 900 of its iconic buses for scrapping followed by an article that doubledecker buses had started arriving for crushing at Anik depot there was an emotional outburst from citizens with the issue trending on social mediaThe BEST undertaking had called for tenders of 100 automatic transmission AC doubledeckers Introduced in Bombay in 1937 to cope with the growing number of passengers on the lines of the red doubledecker buses in London the sheer size and look of doubledecker buses made them very popular from Day One The old popular Routemaster design developed in England between 1947 and 1956 has been synonymous with an independent driverrsquos cabin integral body design and rear entry platformHello Metro goodbye traffic jamsThree crucial Mumbai Metro lines will open in 2023 While phase one of the cityrsquos first underground Mumbai Metro Aqua Line 3 between the Aarey car shed and Bandra Kurla Complex will be operational in December 2023 the Yellow Line 2A Dahisar to D N Nagar and Red Line 7 Dahisar East to Andheri East may open earlier as testing and trials are in the final stagesThe final breakthrough of the Metro3 corridor at Mumbai Central stationThe Aqua Yellow and Red lines which have 40 stations passing through the busy Link Road Western Express Highway and south Mumbaimdashoffering direct connectivitymdashare expected to reduce traffic on roads and decongest the overcrowded local trains on suburban sections once fully operational Earlier on Gudi Padwa in April 2022 a 20km stretch of Metro Line 7 and 2A was opened to public use between Aarey and Dhanukarwadi and is currently drawing a daily ridership of over 25000 on an average as per the MMRDA statisticsEastwest link to ease life in VikhroliThe pillars for the Vikhroli eastwest bridge have been constructedThe Vikhroli eastwest connector is expected to be ready by May 2023 The work on this overpass began in 2018 and was expected to be completed by 2020 However challenges in land acquisition and other technical reasons pushed the deadline by over two years and doubled the cost to R88 crore Once ready this bridge will not only be beneficial for commuters but also for emergency services like fire brigade and ambulances There is no fire brigade station in Vikhroli East and no public hospital on the west sideGear up for coastal delightWork on the Coastal Road underway on July 19 2022 PicAshish RajeThe first phase of the Coastal Road between Princess Street flyover and the southern end of BandraWorli Sea Link is on course to be completed by November 2023 So far 65 per cent of the 1058km project is over and two of its key tunnels are almost ready With the Supreme Court clearing hurdles the BMC is gearing up to build three parking lots that can accommodate 1856 cars a seaside promenade parks and cycle and jogging tracks on the nearly threefourths of the 111 hectares it has reclaimed for the Rs 14000crore project Apart from offering a breathtaking view the road will cut travel time from 40 minutes to 10 minutesA new station between Airoli and ThaneThe total cost of constructing Dighe Railway station is about Rs 110 croreThe Dighe suburban local train railway station will be opened on the ThaneVashi line in 2023 The station is a part of the elevated corridor that has been planned between Airoli and Kalwa to facilitate a link between the Navi Mumbai Transharbour Line and the main line Dighe station along the transharbour line just adjacent to the point where the Thane Belapur Road crosses over the ThaneVashi line has been planned between Thane and Airoli stations and is the point from where the new elevated line will start MRVC officials said the total cost of the projectmdashincluding a groundplustwostorey structure on both sides of the station for booking offices with four ticket windows on either sidemdashis about Rs 110 crore The detailed plan includes two platforms that are 270 metres long and 12 metres wide for 12car local trains along with a number of passenger amenities including two lifts and four escalators along with four underpassesZoorsquos next show Lion KingChildren watch a tiger at Byculla zoo PicAtul KambleThe Byculla zoo will expand its list of attractions with two pairs of Asiatic lions that will come from Sakkarbaug Zoological Park in Junagadh Gujarat and Kamla Nehru Zoo in Indore The zoo officially known as Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan will soon have a new enclosure for crocodiles and gharials and will host an underwater viewing gallery Zoo authorities are also planning to get wolves and otters in exchange for other animals Penguins at the zoo have so far been the biggest drawGlide onto Himalaya FOBThe new FOB will have an escalatorThe Himalaya foot overbridge at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus was built in the 1990s It collapsed on March 14 2019 killing seven In June 2021 the BMC floated a tender for the work that will cost about Rs 575 crore The new FOB is expected to be opened in the first quarter of 2023 Unlike its previous avatar the new FOB will have an escalator Managing underground utilities was a challenge said civic officialsTech boost for public schoolsChildren in a public school at Dharavi File picIn 2023 the education department will establish a realtime dashboard to track teaching and learning in public schools as part of its Samagra Shiksha programme ldquoThe idea is to start digital monitoring of schools to enable them to ensure quality education for each child in government schoolsrdquo said project director Kailash Pagare The projectrsquos main centre will be in Pune and it will have experts and educationists on board to regularly suggest what kind of help is to be provided to schools teachers and studentsGokhale Bridge Some respiteThe Gokhale bridge in Andheri is now out of bounds for motorists PicNimesh DaveThe BMC closed Andherirsquos Gokhale bridge a crucial eastwest link for vehicular traffic in the western suburbs on November 7 after an audit report suggested that parts of the overpass had become dilapidated Citizens were enraged at the lack of planning as two approaches to the bridges are already constructed Users were even more upset when the railway said the portion of the bridge above the tracks was strong and wellmaintained As per the new plan two of the existing four lanes of the bridge will be razed by March 2023 and reconstructed by June giving some respite to motoristsBy Rajendra B Aklekar Ranjeet Jadhav Prajakta Kasale Dipti Singh Sameer Surve Suraj Pandey