Mumbai to get three cable-stayed bridges over rail lines this year

The Byculla bridge is being built at the Kalyan end of the station; (right) Work on the Reay Road cable-stayed bridge is 70 per cent complete

The new year has brought a new template for bridges over rail lines. After the bridge at Gokhale Road in Andheri got Howrah-bridge-like girders, Mumbai is set to get multiple cable-stayed bridges over rail lines. At least three of these should be ready this year.

"The BMC entrusted the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC) to re-construct dilapidated British-era road overbridges in Mumbai and the suburbs. Considering the tremendous road traffic, in most cases, the MRIDC has planned the new cable-stayed bridges adjacent to the existing ones. Old bridges will be demolished later. A detailed plan has been made in such a way that it causes almost no hindrance even to pedestrian movement," a senior MRIDC official said.

"The construction of these cable-stayed overbridges has already started at Reay Road, Byculla and Dadar. Plans are to complete these in less than two years," the official added.

Reay Road

The Reay Road cable-stayed bridge will pass over the Eastern Freeway. It has been designed with architectural LED lighting and will enhance the aesthetic appeal of the area.

"The bridge is being built at a cost of Rs 145 crore. It is 358 metres long, with two ramps and six lanes. The project is at an advanced stage now and work on the superstructure is being undertaken with foundation and pier cap work complete. The work on the pylon is about 70 per cent complete. The targeted deadline is June 2024," an MRIDC official said.

The bridge's construction began on February 14, 2022. One railway ticket counter, 130 huts and 15 sheds were relocated to make way for it.

"The Reay Road bridge will allow traffic movement through the underpass of Barrister Nath Pai Road, maintaining the required vertical clearance for passing of vehicles under Eastern Freeway as per the Indian Road Congress (IRC) standard," the official added.

Dadar

Keeping in mind earlier experiences of traffic jams due to bridge closure, the new bridge is being built parallel to the old one, which is open to traffic. The project's cost is around Rs 375 crore. In the first phase, a four-lane bridge of the same size and shape is being built on the Kalyan side and is expected to be ready in September 2024. When it is ready, traffic will be shifted here, and the old bridge will be replaced with a new one in phase two, resulting in an eight-lane network.

The length and width of the four-lane bridge under phase one are 663 metres and 16.7 metres respectively. There will be 190-metre-long cables over the bridge. The existing Tilak Bridge was built in 1925.

Byculla

Work on Byculla's cable-stayed bridge is in the advanced stages and is expected to be complete by July. Spanning a length of 916 metres, including approaches, and a height of 9.7 metres, it is being built at the Kalyan end of the station at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

In the first stage, a bridge parallel to the existing one will be built and in the second stage, the existing bridge will be reconstructed at the same location. Traffic will be diverted on the new bridge when it is ready. The bridge costs Rs 287 crore and its construction began on December 22, 2021.

Ghatkopar

Work on Ghatkopar's cable-stayed bridge began recently. It costs around Rs 549 crore. The bridge will replace the existing bridge connecting LBS Road with the Eastern Express Highway near Ghatkopar bus depot, intersect Mumbai Metro Green Line 4 in the east and the underground National High-Speed Rail Project Corridor alignment of the Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet train project corridor, making it a complex engineering feat.

The project is divided into two phases - the first will focus on the railway portion, featuring a symmetric cable-stayed section of 108 metres, supported by four pylons.