07 December,2014 05:40 AM IST | | Chetna Sadadekar
The road overbridge on the Jogeshwari railway station — for east-west connectivity — was to be extended and connected to Link Road, but there are about 500 structures in the way
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) plan to connect a road overbridge (ROB) from Jogeshwari railway station in the east to the Jogeshwari Link Road on the west has hit a hurdle as about 500 structures in Jogeshwari West come in the way, towards Oshiwara.
The under construction ROB on the Jogeshwari railway station - the Jogeshwari south bridge - was to be extended and connected to the Link Road on the west side.
The plan has been carried out only till SV Road.
In 2009, the BMC had planned two ROBs out of which, one, the Jogeshwari south bridge, would have been operational by June 2015 from SV Road to Western Express Highway (WEH). Further extensions were to be planned later. The other ROB, Jogeshwari north bridge, has also been held up because of encroachments.
SRA plot?
If BMC sources are to be believed, the area also falls under a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project. This will further stall the project as they cannot construct on SRA land.
While the Bridges Department is now looking at an alternative solution, it will start the SV Road to WEH portion of the bridge.
The project had been stuck because of various reasons in the past and the cost of construction work on Jogeshwari south bridge has increased from Rs 198 crore in 2009 to Rs 300 crore.
A BMC official said, "Such situations arise due to lack of planning, and we have various issues to take care of. The cost has escalated and we are under immense pressure to make the bridge operational and have to coordinate with the railways as well. There is also the issue of Project Affected People and if the SRA is in place, then we will face a problem."
BMC speak
Chief Engineer SA Kori, said, "Five-hundred structures need to be shifted on the road where we planned the exit of the bridge. Presently, the bridge goes above the SV Road and turns toward Millat School, but we cannot go further due to the 500 structures that stand in the path. For now, we are focusing on meeting the deadline of June 2015."
