Mumbai: Delisle Road bridge could be ready by December-end

The girders were made in Kota, Rajasthan, then transported to Mumbai and assembled here

The crucial south Mumbai link of Lower Parel's Delisle Road bridge could spring back to life by the end of this year. For now, railway authorities are feverishly working to place a mega girder over the tracks in May. The second such girder will be placed by August when the railway portion of the project is expected to be complete, paving the way for the approach roads. Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sumit Thakur confirmed the development.

"Once it is launched over the rail lines, the approaches will be built by the BMC. There are a total of three approaches, two on the west side where work of dismantling and rebuilding can start immediately, and the east side which will be available for work after launching post-monsoon," a railway official said. The closure of the road affects thousands of citizens daily as they are forced to take a detour. Also, Parel has many big hospitals. The opening of the road will be a big relief to patients and their relatives, said officials.

Built as a massive steel web structure, the girders were made in Kota, Rajasthan, then transported to Mumbai and assembled here. After studying local conditions, officials said, they were strengthened. "The big web girder has been designed specially as per the angles of the old bridge's alignment because the bridge needs to be placed at a 65-degree curve. A total of 360 metric tonnes of stainless steel along with 3,700 cubic metres of concrete (M-40 grade) has been used," the official added.

The dismantling work of the spans over railway tracks was completed in February 2019. This was followed by the clearing of abutments in June 2019, after the removal of encroachments by the civic body. WR then awarded the contract for rebuilding the railway portion for R87 crore. The foundation work on the east side was completed in May 2020 and completion of the raft foundation on the west side in June 2020 and the east side by January 2021.

The work on the bridge got delayed during the pandemic, particularly due to the shortage of industrial oxygen as it had to be diverted for medical use. Since April 2021, the absence of skilled labour due to the lockdown in many states further impacted the project.

Rs 87cr
Cost of part being built by railways