New Hancock Bridge will be ready in 19 months, Mumbai civic body tells Bombay high court

The statement came after additional solicitor general Anil Singh expressed inability to construct a temporary structure at the site.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday informed the Bombay high court that its contractor will complete within 19 months the construction of a new bridge in place of the now demolished Hancock Bridge.

The Hancock Bridge was pulled down in January 2015. (HT FILE)

“We have brought down the time limit for our contractor for completing the construction work from 24 months to 19 months,” the civic body’s lawyer told a division bench of justice Naresh Patil and justice Nitin Sambre.

The statement came after additional solicitor general Anil Singh expressed inability to construct a temporary structure at the site. Singh said if a temporary bridge is constructed at the site of the bridge – near Sandhurst Road railway station – work on the new bridge cannot be commenced and there is no alternate site to put up the temporary structure.

Even otherwise, Singh said, it will take at least a few months to put up the temporary structure. “It cannot be put up overnight,” he said. He also informed the court that pursuant to earlier orders of the court, even defence forces have examined the site and expressed inability to put up a temporary structure at the site.