Gokhale bridge, Barwifala flyover merger complete, open for traffic from July 1

BMC completes alignment of Barfiwala Flyover and Gopalkrishna Gokhale Bridge in Mumbai, to open on July 1 with pending work finishing by July 10.

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has completed the alignment of the Barfiwala Flyover and the Gopalkrishna Gokhale Bridge and will be thrown open to the public on July 1. On Tuesday, the BMC said all pending work will be completed by July 10.

The work, led by BMC engineers and consultants, took two months of detailed planning. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

This project involved lifting the Barfiwala flyover using hydraulic jacks and MS stool packing, raising it by 1,397 mm on one side and by 650 mm on the other to match the two flyovers with a gap of 2 mm.

The work, led by BMC engineers and consultants, took two months of detailed planning. For stability, the civic body also installed six new bearings and two supporting pedestals. The concreting and stitching work went smoothly as it did not rain for 12 hours after the job. “The concreting work was tricky because it had to be done during the rainy season. They had set up a rainproof shed just in case, but luckily, the rain held off. The concrete used was of high quality, allowing it to set quickly,” said a BMC official. “After the concretisation, a 14-day curing period is needed. Once this is done, a load test will be conducted to ensure the bridge’s safety.”

This task is being managed under the guidance of experts from IIT-Bombay and Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technology (VJIT)