Barfiwala flyover-Gokhale bridge connection was meant for Phase 2’

MUMBAI: Responding to social media reels and criticism for the failed connection between Andheri’s Gokhale Bridge and Barfiwala Flyover, the BMC on Monday issued a press statement and said that it never intended to connect the two flyovers in its first phase of reconstruction.

HT was the first to report on the height difference between the two flyovers owing to the increased height requirement by the railways for Gokhale Bridge and the missing drawings of Barfiwala Flyover, due to which BMC had to appoint IIT and VJTI as consultants.

The BMC said there was a height difference of 2.833 meters between the two flyovers. “It is to be noted that the level of top of bridge in railway span is 44.13 m whereas the level of bridge at the junction of Barfiwala flyover and Gokhale bridge is 41.30 m. per the railway approved GAD. As such, there is level difference of around 2.833 m,” (sic) said the BMC statement.

The slope of the new Gokhale Bridge arm and the slope of the north-bound Barfiwala Flyover were in opposite directions, and joining them would lead to accidents, it said, adding that if it had to work on modifying Barfiwala Flyover to connect with Gokhale Bridge, it would have to utilise space on S V Road and Barfiwala Road (which connects Juhu with S V Road), which would have created “traffic havoc”.

The BMC also said that it held a “series of meetings” and examined “various options” for connecting Barfiwala Flyover with Gokhale Bridge, and decided to consider this in Phase II of the work.

At the inauguration of Gokhale Bridge’s first arm on February 26, BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal had said that the second arm would be opened and both flyovers connected before the end of the year.

Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, founder of the Mumbai North Central District Forum, said that the civic body ought to accept its blunder and work on fixing it instead of issuing clarifications. “The fact is that it failed to connect the two bridges,” he said. “Its officers sat on the issue for nearly two years and did nothing. Now when citizens are furious, they are in damage control mode and issuing clarifications.

“Can the BMC explain how the important drawings of Barfiwala Flyover went missing?” continued Karnani. “Heads need to roll, the officials responsible should be fired or suspended and the BMC should get capable officers to fix this.”

A part of Gokhale Bridge collapsed in 2018, killing two people. The bridge is a key connector between Andheri East and Andheri West and is one of the busiest routes in the suburb. It was kept partially open after the collapse while the BMC worked on rebuilding it in phases. In September 2022, it was declared unsafe during a routine audit and was completely shut from November 7, 2022.