Mumbai: A year and Rs 3.34 crore later, Gokhale Bridge opens up

In the safety audit undertaken jointly by the WR and IIT-Bombay several repair and strengthening works of the bridge had been identified. Pics/Satej Shinde

Almost after a year since repair work started, Andheri's Gokhale Bridge was fully opened to the public on Sunday morning. The work, which started in July last year after the cantilever footpath on the southern end of the bridge collapsed, was carried out at a cost of R3.34 crore. Soon after the incident, Western Railway (WR) had undertaken a safety audit of the bridge with help from IIT-Bombay, following which major repair and strengthening works had been identified.

Chief public relations officer of Western Railway, Ravinder Bhakar, said, "The process involved dismantling of the 3.3-metre-wide old cantilever slabs on both the northern and southern end of the bridge, replacing the corroded steel brackets supporting the slabs, casting new slabs and crash barrier and putting up a stainless steel fencing."

He further said that special care had been taken while selecting the material in order to ensure that the structures were much more durable. The focus was also on design detailing like reduced cantilever, rich concrete mix and lesser inaccessible parts so that inspections could be carried out easily.

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Bhakar added that the repair works could be carried out only at night to ensure the safety of trains passing from underneath the bridge and also for the convenience of those using the road.

To further minimise inconvenience to commuters, repairs were carried out in two phases. Starting July 2018, in the first phase the south carriageway was repaired by January this year. The chief PRO said that at the state government's request, the carriageway had to be partially opened for scooters and three-wheelers even when repair works were underway. In the second phase, the north carriage way was repaired within the next four months.

2018
Year the cantilever footpath on the southern end of the bridge collapsed

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