14 years later, Mumbai's first skywalk to be demolished

As part of the project, only the arm of the skywalk connecting the station to Bandra court will be demolished and rebuilt. Pic/Shadab Khan

The first skywalk of the city, on the east side of Bandra station, is finally going to be demolished. The demolition contract was awarded in February, but the BMC is awaiting permission from the traffic police. A civic official said they expect to get the permission in a day or two, following which the demolition work will start this week. Once the skywalk is taken down, a new bridge will be built with an escalator at one end, but this will not have a roof.

As per plans, only the arm from the railway station to Bandra court will be demolished and reconstructed while the second arm around the oil company will be demolished later.

"We are awaiting permission from the traffic police. It will come in a day or two and the demolition will start in the upcoming week. The demolition will be completed before the monsoon and construction will start thereafter. The work will continue even during the monsoon," said Satish Tosar, chief of the bridges department.

The Bandra skywalk was built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in 2008 and has been closed since 2019 as it was declared dilapidated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, after the collapse of the Himalaya FOB at CSMT. Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute experts submitted a structural audit report in January 2020 and recommended major repair of the skywalk. However, BMC officials decided on reconstruction, saying that repairs would have cost around R7 crore and would not increase the life of the skywalk significantly. A new one would stay for at least 40 years.

The work on the project came to a halt owing to the pandemic and financial crunch, and the standing committee finally approved the project in January this year. The total cost for the demolition and reconstruction is pegged at almost R19 crore and the work is expected to be completed within 18 months including monsoon.

A BMC official said that the skywalk will be rebuilt without a roof to keep anti-social elements away. "Many homeless people were seen encroaching the space, so the skywalk will be constructed without a roof. But the design is such that a roof can be added in future if required," he added.

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Months required for demolition and reconstruction work