Gokhale bridge partial opening pushed by Feb 29

The opening of the Gokhale Bridge in Andheri, Mumbai, has been delayed by 10 days due to unexpected technical problems. One arm will open in late February.

Mumbai: Confirming the fears of Andheri residents, who have been watching the progress of the Gokhale Bridge’s construction with bated breath, the scheduled date for the opening of the one arm has been delayed by 10 days. Slated to be opened by February 15 earlier, it has now been delayed till the last week of February – by February 29.

HT Image

Due to encountering unexpected technical problems, particularly at the stage of lowering the girder, the construction took longer than expected, said commissioner Iqbal S Chahal in a meeting held with BMC officials, MLA Ameet Satam, railway officials, and RITES on January 17. Despite this, one arm of the bridge will be started in February.

The girders (iron beams) of the bridge were bought into alignment by November 20, 2023, following which they were slid towards the railway tracks by December 2. Then they began moving the girder 13 meters north, which was completed by December 20. The work of lowering the girder only started on January 3, following tests by the Railways and RITES. The lowering was complete by the night of January 13, as reported by HT, with several officials claiming it would take till March 7 for the first phase.

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.