Andheri motorists to suffer till December

Andheri West side of Gokhale bridge on March 21. File pic/Nimesh Dave

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has pushed the deadline for the reopening of Gokhale bridge once again, stating that two of the structure's four lanes will only be completed by the end of the year, if everything goes according to plan.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, at a press conference held on May 19, had said that the bridge would be opened by October-end. The BMC also announced that it would open two lanes before the monsoon but later blamed steel supply issues for the delay.

The crucial link between the east and west sides of Andheri has been closed since November 2022, as it had been deemed dilapidated. As the bridge's slopes were run-down the BMC already had given a contract for their reconstruction four years ago. But the work was going on at a snail's pace. After closing the bridge, the BMC decided to rebuild the part over railway tracks also and promised to open at least two before the monsoon. However, the civic body is yet to even erect pillars.

P Velrasu, additional commissioner of the BMC, said, "The team is working hard to complete the construction of two lanes by the year-end. "The issue of supply of steel [needed for the fabrication of the bridge] hasn't been solved yet. We are working on it. If everything goes according to plan, the bridge may be partially opened by the year-end," said Velrasu.

At the press conference, the CM stated that he had called the steel company concerned and asked them to ensure that the metal is provided as soon as possible while BMC officials said that they would complete work by October in the presence of Shinde. Civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal also said that the work would be finished by October and construction work would take place during the rainy season.

AB Infrabuild Limited is constructing the stretch over the railway tracks. The company have a work order for the procurement and fabrication of an open web girder to HMM Infra Limited on February 8 and the latter firm ordered structural steel from the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) on March 20. But due to a strike at SAIL's Roorkee plant, there was an indefinite delay and it was not been able to commit to a delivery date. So the order was also placed with Jindal Steel and Power Limited on April 5 and deliveries started at the end of April and will end on July 15. However, the amount of steel that is being provided by Jindal is not enough and the Gokhale bridge reconstruction is still highly dependent on the steel provided by SAIL. The total requirement of steel for the railway portion is 2,600 MT, out of which only 750 MT has been received.

2,600MT
Steel requirement for bridge

May 19
Day CM held press conference