Reconstruction of Hancock Bridge just one approval away

The debris from the demolition of the bridge

On Thursday, which marks the four years of the demolition of Hancock Bridge, the Central Railway said they have reached the final stage of approval to begin reconstruction of the crucial infrastructure between Mazgaon and Sandhurst Road. A BMC official said they expect to launch the girders around March 15.

The CR said the BMC sent them the final designs of the bridge on Wednesday and it was forwarded to the Ministry of Aviation that handles the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for a go-ahead - the final and mandatory approval stage.

Hancock Bridge is a crucial east-west connection for south Mumbai and its reconstruction has been delayed over a number of issues at the administrative level.

Confirming the development, CR's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, "The final bridge design and launching scheme provided by the BMC has been approved by Central Railway. Nothing is pending at our end. The clearance will be given as soon as we receive compliance and girder launching design approval paper. The CRS approval is awaited."

The Hancock Bridge over the railway track built between Mazgaon and Sandhurst Road in 1879 (140 years ago) was one of the oldest bridges of the city. The bridge was declared unsafe by CR in 2015 and demolished in January 2016.

Officials from the BMC's bridges department said they would need about 45 days to assemble the girders and launch them. "By the time the approvals come, we should be ready with the girders and their launching. We are looking to launch the girders around March 15," a top official said on the condition of anonymity.

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