Mumbai, A newly constructed bridge, which has replaced a 112-year-old colonial-era overpass next to Sion railway station in central Mumbai, is expected to open to traffic soon, civic officials said.
Work on the crash barriers and the concrete wearing coat was subsequently completed. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The new bridge has a single span of 54.5 metres and a width of 29 metres, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation . The civic body said that although the tender schedule envisages completion by February 2027, Bangar had directed officials to open the bridge before the original deadline. Central Railway completed concreting of the deck slab on the first 500-tonne steel girder on August 21 and on the second girder on August 29. A portion of the land on the eastern side was handed over by Central Railway to the BMC on August 25, allowing work on the eastern approach road to begin, officials added.
Its pillar-free design over the railway tracks will provide sufficient space for the proposed fifth and sixth railway lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Kurla, said officials. Officials said Central Railway has reconstructed the main bridge or girder section over the railway tracks, while the BMC’s bridges department has reconstructed and strengthened the approach roads. The entire project is being funded by the railway authorities, according to the BMC. Reconstruction of the western approach road, connecting Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg to Sant Rohidas Marg in Dharavi, was in its final stages, according to the BMC.
He set October 15 as the deadline for completing all works.
Earlier this month, Bangar inspected the reconstruction work and directed officials to complete the project on priority.
The old bridge was declared unsafe following a structural safety audit by IIT Bombay in 2019. Authorities subsequently decided to dismantle it and reconstruct it to pave the way for two additional railway lines under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project. The reconstructed bridge will be opened to traffic after two years. In the absence of the bridge, vehicles were forced to take detours via the Dharavi bridge, the BKC-Chunabhatti Link Road or the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, leading to congestion in the areas over the last two years. Once opened to traffic, the bridge will reduce congestion in Dharavi, Sion and Kurla, as the old structure was one of the main east-west connectivity links in the northern part of Mumbai’s island city. Dharavi is expected to benefit significantly from the bridge’s reopening.
BMC’s Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar told PTI that the new bridge is expected to open for traffic “soon”, though the date is not yet finalised. The bridge will most likely open to traffic in the second half of October and is expected to ease traffic congestion in the Sion, Kurla and Dharavi areas, according to a few other officials.
