Confusion prevails over date of Gokhale Bridge partial reopening

According to officers, the portion of Gokhale Bridge which is over the railway line will be built in two phases. In the first phase, the portion on the north or Virar end will be constructed and in the second phase the southern end or Dadar side of the bridge will be built

Mumbai: Confusion prevails in the BMC on the exact date that Gokhale Bridge, a key East-West connector in Andheri, will be partially reopened. The civic body on November 9 had announced that the bridge would partially reopen in May 2023 and be thrown open to the public in September 2023.

Mumbai, India - December 16, 2022: Gokhale Bridge repairing work underway, at Andheri, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, December 16, 2022. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Gokhale Bridge was partially shut in 2018 following a collapse, and was completely closed down this year on November 7 after a routine audit declared it unsafe for vehicular and pedestrian movement.

According to an official from the bridges department, the bridge can only be reopened in June since the railway demolition, which is still on, will need three more months to be completed. “Our fabrication work for the girders is going on. However, we can only start working on site after the demolition is completed, and if the railways are saying it will be done by March, then we can only complete it earliest by June,” said the official.

Western Railway (WR) refuted the claim. “We completed awarding the tender in one day and started demolition the next day,” said Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer, Western Railway. “Some things take time. Demolishing a bridge above a running railway line with high-tension wires is a critical job. We are on schedule and will finish demolition by March 2023. There is no delay from our end.” Thakur added that that WR would take up a mega block in March, mostly on the weekends, for the final dismantling of the bridge.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) P Velrasu also said that the project would be completed on time.

According to officers, the portion of Gokhale Bridge which is over the railway line will be built in two phases. In the first phase, the portion on the north or Virar end will be constructed and in the second phase the southern end or Dadar side of the bridge will be built. On November 30, the BMC awarded the work for reconstruction of the railway portion of Gokhale Bridge to A B Infrabuild Pvt Ltd at a cost of ₹74.5 crore.