Mumbai: Finally! Andheri's Gokhale bridge reopens this evening

The Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge at Andheri which collapsed in July 2018 resulting in two deaths and three injuries will fully open for traffic todayThe bridge has been shut since November 2022 and partially operational since February 26 2024 From Sunday evening after the inauguration traffic of light motor vehicles will only be allowed initially and the movement of heavy vehicles will start at a later date after removal of height barricadesMumbai Suburban Guardian Minister Ashish Shelar will inaugurate the second phase of the bridge on Sunday eveningGokhale Bridge awaits its opening as finishing touches are put by workers and by artists from the NGO Project Mumbai PicsSatej ShindeAdditional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar confirmed the update with midday ldquoThe bridge will open from Sunday For heavy vehicles movement we need to discuss with the traffic police as there is a need to remove height barriersrdquo Bangar saidAlthough the bridge will fully open on Sunday the road along with the bridge which connects the station road on the East side is still under construction An official said ldquoOne side of the road toward the station will open this week but other side of the road towards Telli Gully will take time to completerdquoArtwork to create awarenessThe BMC gave permission to the NGO Project Mumbai to paint the walls of the bridge The theme is Mumbai as well as awareness about traffic regulation like using car seatbelts wearing helmet while riding twowheelers and no drinking and drivingWhen midday went to the site we found that the wall painting was undergoing The artists said that the work would be completed by inaugurationSlow construction and delaysAccording to the plan the work of the bridge was first supposed to be completed in 2023 But due to the change in design strike in steel plant heavy rain in Haryana where girder fabrication plant is located the work was delayed The first phase of the project opened in February 2024 The second phase was to open by April 2025Mismatch in alignmentEven after completing the first phase the woes of the bridge did not end mdash there was a height difference of around 6ft between the old C D Barfiwala connector and new Gokhale bridgeIn figuresThe cost of the project is around R 160 crore total The length of the bridge is 510 metres The length of the railway is 90 metres The weight of the 90metre girder is 1300 metric tonnesMahua Dutta Parag Motani and Dhaval ShahNew bottleneckThe work on the JVPD flyover is beginning and there are barricades at the start of the Barfiwala connector on Juhu Galli in Andheri West This is creating a bottleneckWhat they sayDhaval Shah founder of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen forum said ldquoGokhale bridge is testament of public and BMC partnership with hundreds joining together to ensure the critical infrastructure gets completed in time and good quality which will last long several recommendations like cat eyes direction boards reflective tapes accepted and numerous joint meetings which brought transparency and confidence amongst residentsrdquoShah added ldquoAlthough work was delayed due to the various reason now motorists will get relief in the monsoonrdquoAnother resident of Andheri East said ldquoAs the part of the bridge opened we got relife but during peak hours the bottleneck was created at the exit of the bridge After the opening of the full bridge traffic congestion at the exit of the bridge at the West side will reducerdquoResidents want BEST routesFour routes of BEST buses will be diverted in 2022 as the bridge shuts down for traffic Even after the opening of the first phase of the bridge in 2024 the BEST route did not restored as the heavy vehicles from the bridge are restricted As the full bridge is opening residents of Andheri demanding BEST should immediately start bus service from the bridgeldquoRestarting the buses will help people save from their overstretched monthly budget and valuable time in daily commute to workrdquo said Parag Motani resident of Versova ldquoCurrently many had no option for travel due to absence of Public transport now it will help many like me to explore Best bus and save time and money said Abhijeet Sonone resident of AndherildquoScores of students who study in west side colleges and school along with office goers will benefit from reopening of bus routesrdquo said Mahua Dutta resident of Andheri WestatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params