Under construction Marwah bridge misses another deadline; new opening set for next week

Marwah bridge, linking Marol to Saki Vihar road, misses third deadline for opening after three years of construction, causing inconvenience to commuters. Total cost now at ₹29.44 crore.

After its closure in June 2021 for re-construction work, the Marwah bridge, that connects Marol to Saki Vihar road, missed its third deadline of June 30 for opening.

HT Image

“The bridge is barely 30 metres. Yet BMC has been working on it for three years now, and still hasn’t been able to complete it,” said Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of the Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA).

He further said that when he had visited the bridge in mid-June, at least 20% of the work was yet to be completed. “No work was done for most of the duration. And whatever was done was shoddy work,” he added.

He pointed out that commuters going towards the Seven Hills Hospital now have to take a longer route through the Andheri-Ghatkopar Junction Road and Sakinaka. This adds 30 to 40 minutes to their travel time, and even 1 hour during peak times. Also, the 130-metre Saki Vihar road is the fastest connector from Andheri East to Chandivali and Powai, and residents now need to take a detour from Sakinaka.

Meanwhile, the cost of the bridge has gone up from the initial amount of ₹14.22 crore to ₹29.44 crore. It has been growing by leaps and bounds. From the initial ₹14.22 crore, the amount was increased to ₹26.07 crore after a decision to reconstruct it was taken. Another ₹3.37 crore was added for extending the bridge by 3.1 metres. All these additions have brought the total cost amount to a whopping ₹29.44 crore.

In the same way, the work completion deadline has also been getting extended. From December 2023, it became May 2024, then June 2024, and now, a new deadline has been fixed for next week.

However, an official from a department associated with the construction on the bridge said that the work has been completed, and only because of rain damage, some rectification work is going on.

“The bridge will open sometime next week, depending on the rains,” he said.