Gokhale bridge girder lowered completely; one arm likely to be open by Feb end

The first girder of Mumbai's Gokhale bridge has been fully lowered and put in place, putting the project back on track. The bridge is expected to partially open by the end of February, with the entire bridge set to be operational by May 2024. Despite some delays, the remaining work is expected to be completed by March 7. The Gokhale bridge was closed in November 2022 due to structural issues and was demolished in December 2022.

Mumbai: The first girder of the Gokhale bridge, which was left to be lowered by 7.5 metres, was fully lowered and put in place on Saturday night. After the lowering of the girder, the work on Gokhale Bridge is on track, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may open one arm of the bridge by the end of February. However, sources say the deadline will stretch till the first week of March.

HT Image

Within three weeks of its launch, the shifting and lowering of the first girder of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge, a key Andheri east-west connector, was undertaken on the intervening night of December 19 and 20.

The open web girder (OWG) of the Gokhale bridge was launched on December 3, following which it was slewed by 14 metres towards the western side to connect the entire east-west stretch.

The remaining 800 mm was completed after extra precautionary measures on December 20.

After the first arm is open for traffic, the civic body will launch the second girder, aiming to make the entire bridge operational by May 2024.

P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner, told HT that one arm of the Gokhale bridge is expected to open by February end. But civic sources said it will not open until March 7.

A civic source told HT, “Mostly all work will be completed by March 7, and all difficulties will be overcome. After the installation of the girder, the civic body will initiate works on the casting of a deck slab, a protection wall called an anti-crash barrier will be constructed, there will be work on expansion joints followed by asphalt road surfacing, painting work, and amongst other essential works.”

Unless these works are completed, one arm of the bridge cannot be opened as it is depended on many factors like the availability of labourers, materials, etc., added the source.

This will be the second longest railway over bridge (ROB) after the Vidyavihar ROB in the eastern suburbs, which measures 99.8 metres. The length of this girder is 90 metres.

The Bridge was shut down in November 2022 owing to its weak structural stability and was demolished by the railways in December 2022.