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Andheri commuters in for tough time as BMC plans demolition of Mogra Nalla bridges
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai is set to demolish and reconstruct three more bridges in Andheri, exacerbating traffic problems in the area. The bridges are set to be rebuilt over the next 18 months at a cost of INR31.63 crore ($4.4m). The closure of the Gokhale bridge has already increased congestion in the area.
Mumbai: Already hassled by uncertainty over re-opening of the Gokhale bridge, Andheri commuters’ problems are about to get compounded as three more bridges are set for demolition and reconstruction by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
On September 1, the civic body opened tender bids for the reconstruction of the SV Road bridge, Caesar Road bridge and Veera Desai Road bridge over the Mogra nallah in Andheri West. The work has a timeline of 18 months, excluding the monsoon, and will cost a whopping ₹31.63 crore. The deadline for submitting bids is September 25.
Although neither of the bridges are alternatives to the shut Gokhale bridge, the traffic exacerbated in Andheri due to its closure and with these being demolished to be rebuilt, it is only going to get worse.
According to the scope of work in the tender, the first step in the sequence of activities will be demolishing the three bridges. The work will be done in phases.
“The bridges are between 100 to 200m in length. But as they’re getting old, they have to be updated to modern standards. The work order will take time as it is still in the planning stage, so it is difficult to stay when the work on them will begin,” said a BMC official from the Bridges department.
“After the work order is completed, the BMC along with the police and traffic department sit and construct an execution scheme to ensure no inconvenience to passengers.”
The tender makes mention that the work will be carried out near running traffic, and hence the contractor will be required to take safety measures for the same. The traffic police will be incharge of regulating the traffic in the area. A traffic flow and traffic diversion scheme will be decided, for which wardens and signs will be deployed.
Yet, due to the importance of the bridges, the impact will be big. Ceasar Road and Veera Deasai Road lead to Ambivali and beyond from DN Nagar and Azad Nagar.
“It’s going to be a complete disaster,” said Karan Jotwani, an Oshiwara resident who travels to Marol on a daily basis, using the bridges for work. “People will instead have to use the Link Road, which is always jammed in the mornings and evenings at the Mega mall junction. Even people coming from Malad will have to use it, making it worse.”
He added that the closure of the Gokhale bridge has led to people using SV Road or the Irla flyover, which is inadequate. All of this compounded will add burden onto the Link Road.
“The area is already clogged with traffic thanks to the closure of the Gokhale bridge,” said Dhaval Shah, founder of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association.
“The Caeser road bridge is an important arterial link, as it’s an alternate to the one-way JP Road. Commuters can use it to go from Andheri station to DN Nagar, Four Bungalows, Versova, Lokhandwala, but you can’t use it on the way back. Stopping traffic on it will lead to a lot of heartburn for commuters,” he said.
He adds that the Veera Desai bridge caters to a couple of thousand residents, whom the construction will impact. Both the residents recommended that the demolition and reconstruction of the bridges should be taken up one after the other, to reduce the fallout.
Pedestrian movement is also an issue mentioned in the tender. For this, the contractor will have to provide barricading, signals, warning signals, etc, to ensure it is not affected.
Ulhas Mahale, deputy municipal commissioner (Infrastructure), refused to comment.
