Mumbai: Motorists fume at slow pace of work on Andheri bridge

Vehicles on the Gokhale bridge in Andheri on Tuesday. Pics/Sameer Markande

Motorists are unlikely to get relief from congestion on Andheri's Gokhale bridge, which is being rebuilt, for a couple of years. The BMC is yet to finalise the drawing of the stretch running over the railway tracks. A portion of the original overpass, which came up in 1975, collapsed in 2018. Since then, only one lane of the bridge is being used for vehicular movement. Activists said poor planning by BMC has delayed the work.

The key east-west connector links S V Road and the Western Express Highway. In 2020, the civic body gave a contract worth about Rs 80 crore to construct the approach roads. While the work was supposed to be over by April 2022, it's still not complete. "We are trying to complete the work as early as possible," said a BMC official.

Only one lane of the overpass is being used

Motorists using the route said they face a harrowing time during peak hours. Karan Jotwani, who commutes from Oshiwara to Marol, said, "It's a daily struggle on Gokhale bridge. The work seems to be progressing very slowly. How many more years will we have to bear this? During rain, especially when the Andheri subway is closed due to waterlogging, traffic increases on Gokhale bridge."

Also Read: 31 years later, BMC starts work on missing link between Andheri and Goregaon

Yari Road resident Milind Shah, who too travels to Marol Naka daily, is equally frustrated. "My daily travelling distance is only about 11 km which now takes nearly one and a half hours due to this bridge. If the Andheri subway is closed due to rain, it takes 2 hours. Earlier, it didn't take more than an hour. We have been suffering for the past two years. The authorities should think about citizens," said Shah.

A BMC official said after they started building the approach roads, the Western Railway asked the civic body to reconstruct the dilapidated portion of the bridge over the rail tracks. "We prepared the drawing for the bridge over the tracks, but the railways suggested that we get it cleared by IIT-Bombay. We submitted it to IIT-B a few days ago," said the official.

He added that BMC will soon clear the advanced payment sought by IIT-B following which the report will arrive. "When IIT-B clears the drawing, we will decide whether to appoint a new contractor to build this part of the bridge or to work with an existing contractor," said the official.

Activist Dhaval Shah and Andheri residents said the public is paying the price for the lack of coordination among authorities. "Now they will start the reconstruction of the part of the bridge above the rail lines. It will take 2-3 years. Till then we will have to face this traffic problem. Why didn't the authorities coordinate and decide to build the whole bridge at the same time," asked Shah.

Civic officials said the reconstruction of the bridge over the tracks will cost about Rs 80 crore, taking the total rebuilding cost of the overpass to nearly Rs 160 crore.

Satish Thosar, chief engineer of BMC's bridges department, said, "It will take one and half years to complete the entire work of the bridge. Due to delay in getting some permission, the work on the access road got delayed."

Rs 160
Estimated cost in crore of rebuilding entire bridge

2018
When a portion of Gokhale bridge collapsed