BMC plans diwali gift for city: One lane of Gokhale bridge

Andheri MLA Ameet Satam at the Gokhale bridge site with Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu on Thursday

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to launch a girder on the railway portion of Gokhale bridge at Andheri at least by the end of September. It also plans to open one lane of the new bridge for public use by diwali. Andheri MLA Ameet Satam visited the bridge construction site with Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu on Thursday.

"Work on the portion in BMC jurisdiction will be complete by the end of this month. Work on the construction of two piers on the railway portion is in progress and it will also be complete by the end of the month. BMC will launch a girder on the railway portion by the end of September. Subsequently the portions under BMC and railways jurisdiction will be complete. After that slab and concreting work will start," said Satam.

"There are no issues regarding steel or anything else and work is going as per schedule," said a BMC official. AMC Velrasu said, "BMC is looking at starting one lane of the bridge by Diwali." According to the BMC official, the bridge will have four lanes. The cost of the project is around Rs 160 crore. The BMC closed the bridge for traffic in November 2022. This has led to heavy traffic in Andheri, Jogeshwari and Vile Parle. Part of the bridge collapsed in 2018. After two years the BMC issued a work order in 2020 to construct an approach way to the bridge. But this was stuck due to the pandemic.