Mumbai: BMC relocates iron beam on Gokhale Bridge's southern side

The iron beam was relocated on September 4/ BMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Thursday said that the operation to relocate the iron beam from the southern side of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge--which connects Andheri East and West across the railway tracks--was completed successfully on the night of September 4. The beam is supposed to be relocated by 86 meters and thus far has been moved by 25 meters.

The remaining distance will be covered after gaining consent from the Western Railway administration and securing the next railway block, BMC said and added that it is collaborating closely with Western Railway on this assignment,

In their media statement, the civic body said that the first phase of the bridge, which is a critical link for traffic between Andheri East and West, opened to the public on February 26, 2024, enabling light cars. The second phase of building is underway. As part of this project, the beam was successfully elevated between 10:00 PM on September 4, 2024 and 5:00 AM on September 5, 2024.

The work is being done with the technical assistance of RITES Limited and consent from Western Railway. Despite the problems of limited space and the necessity to assure rail safety, the initial phase of beam movement went smoothly. This success is expected to make the rest of the procedure easier, the civic body had said.

The beam is 13.5 metres wide and 90 metres long, weighing roughly 1,300 metric tonnes. Due to the limited space available in the location, a massive crane capable of rotating 360 degrees was deployed.

"All the spare parts of the beam on the other side of the bridge have been brought to Mumbai from the fabrication plant in Ambala. After the completion of all the parts of the beam, the connection of the spare parts was completed on 24 August 2024. Each beam measures 13.5 m wide (3 plus 3 lanes) and 90m long with a 1.0 m wide footpath. The weight of the beam is about 1300 metric tons. Given the low space available at the project site to accommodate the spare part of the beam at the work site as well as to accommodate the rail part, a heavy crane rotating at 360 degrees has been used," the BMC said.

The second phase of the project is slated to be finished by November 14, 2024, with the approach roads scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2025.