Gokhale Bridge will open by September 2023: BMC

Mumbai: After an outcry by local residents of Andheri and its periphery, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced that Gokhale Bridge will be open to public by September 2023. The first phase of the work on two lanes will be complete by May, the civic body announced on Wednesday.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) will finalise the design within this week. Soon after, the bridges department of BMC will carry out the approvals.

An official from the bridges department, said, “The drawings for the foundation are expected over the next few days from IIT, which will then be sent to the Western Railway (WR).”

Mangal Lodha, guardian minister for Mumbai suburbs, has scheduled a joint meeting between WR and BMC, on Friday to expedite the work. “Gokhale Bridge is an important connector. Shutting it down has inconvenienced many residents and hence we are vouching that the work will commence and be completed at the earliest,” said Lodha.

Three days after its closure, additional municipal commissioner (Project), P Velrasu, inspected the bridge on Wednesday, and instructed the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) to remove the barricades put up for construction of Metro along SV Road to make way for vehicular movement. A statement released by BMC on Wednesday read, “MMRDA commissioner has agreed to narrow down the barricades.”

Following Velrasu’s visit, the ward has also been instructed to keep alternate routes free of encroachments and fill all potholes within two days. “We have already initiated various steps to that end and the ward will take all measures to reduce traffic jams,” said an official from K-east Ward.

Both wards – K-east and K-west -- have put out a comprehensive plan to ensure the area remains free from encroachment: removing abandoned vehicles, hanging cables, putting up display boards about the closure of the bridge, installing ‘no parking’ boards and highlighting zebra crossings. Additionally, 200 personnel will be deployed by BMC to assist traffic police in order to smoothen vehicular flow. Incidentally, this measure was taken a day after Nitin Pawar, DCP Traffic, requested additional manpower from BMC.

Abhijit Dalal, 44, a resident of Bisleri Junction, said, “Sahar Road seemed traffic-free on Wednesday. Additional traffic personnel were seen on the route. People seem to have already made alternate plans of using public transport or work from home.”

Meanwhile, most schools within Andheri had asked parents to drop their wards 15 minutes early at the bus stop. Despite this, school buses took an additional 45 minutes to pick up and drop students. The school bus owner’s association (SBOA) will observe the traffic this week and will chalk out alternative plans on Friday.

Anil Garg, president, SBOA, said, “The delay in ferrying children back and forth was due to the alternate routes. This also resulted in a clash of pick-ups and drops of kids attending morning and afternoon schools. We will discuss alternate traffic plans with schools next week.”

Ashraf Adenwala, a bus driver, who also runs school buses in Andheri West concurred, “We run three buses and five school vans. They were delayed today by at least 30 minutes. In the evening, vehicles on the Captain Sawant Marg, near the Jogeshwari East-West flyover were at a standstill for nearly 20 minutes. We have alerted the Mumbai traffic department in the past as well. However, the traffic situation has worsened after the bridge’s closure.”

(Inputs by Ankita G Menon)