Bellasis road overbridge in south Mumbai to be pulled down soon

A Western Railway (WR) official said a plan for razing the portion above the rail lines would be ready by September 15 and tenders had already been floated for this work

Residents of south Mumbai will have to reschedule their daily route of commute as another British-era road overbridge (ROB) is likely to be demolished in the next few months. The 130-year-old Bellasis ROB at Mumbai Central connects Tardeo, Byculla, Nagpada, Grant Road and nearby areas.

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A Western Railway (WR) official said a plan for razing the portion above the rail lines would be ready by September 15 and tenders had already been floated for this work.

“We will, however, not be able to go ahead until the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has prepared a plan to demolish the approach roads. We are already in touch with the Mumbai traffic police for taking measures on movement of vehicles,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

Sources said as per the ongoing discussion, the civic body will finalise its plan only by November.

An official from BMC’s bridges department said, “The existing ROB has been declared dangerous. WR is going to pull it down and construct a new one. They have appointed a contractor. WR has plans to raze it in two to three months and subsequently we will invite tenders for demolition.”

The length of the bridge above the rail tracks is 56 metres with a width of 28 metres. The cost of demolition is pegged at ₹36 crore of which civil and engineering works will be carried out at an approximate cost of ₹24 crore. Building a new one would take 18-24 months and the expenditure is expected to be around ₹60-70 crore, officials said.

According to the traffic police, 25,000 to 30,000 motorists use this bridge every day.

“I prefer taking this bridge to go to AC Market in Tardeo. If this is closed for traffic, then it will put pressure on the Mahalaxmi and Grant Road bridges which see heavy traffic during peak hours,” Kailash Patil, a resident of Lalbaug, said.

In June, the Delisle ROB in Lower Parel was partially opened after being closed since August 2018 and was later demolished. Meanwhile, the work of launching steel girders for Gokhale ROB in Andheri will begin in October.

“The existing road overbridges of Hancock and Carnac have been demolished and haven’t been rebuilt for a few years now. The Railways should ideally take one bridge at a time rather than demolishing multiple ones that would cause inconvenience to public,” Kamlakar Shenoy, a resident of Mazgaon, said.

Earlier, Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited was supposed to construct a cable stayed ROB on Bellasis road at a cost of ₹150 crore. However, the work was later transferred to WR and the new one will not be cable stayed.