Shirish Vaktania, Samiullah Khan and Anurag Kamble

UP until last week, it would take about 3 minutes on a two-wheeler to reach Western Express Highway through the Gokhale bridge in Andheri. A car would take 5 minutes, while it took 5 to 7 minutes on a bus. All that changed, for the worse, after the BMC shut the bridge. It now takes an hour for cars and buses for west-east travel, found a test drive by mid-day.
 
As it announced the closure of the Gokhale bridge, the BMC said the overpass had become unsafe for motorists. The decision also rendered two newly built approach bridges useless, earning the BMC much reprisal from citizens as well as urban planning experts. With the closure of the Gokhale bridge, the west-to-east traffic is diverted from Vile Parle biscuit factory bridge, Captain Vinayak Gore flyover, Milan subway and flyover, Thackeray bridge, Andheri subway and Khar subway.