Mumbai: Gokhale bridge to partially open today

Gokhale bridge, a key connector between Andheri East and West, on Sunday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

After a prolonged delay, one lane of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge in Andheri is set to be opened on Monday. The vital east-west connector has been shut for the past 15 months. Civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal told mid-day, "One lane will be opened for motorists from Monday evening."

Dhaval Shah, a civic activist who has been consistently following up on the matter with the authorities, expressed relief, stating, "This is great news for us. The closure of the Gokhale bridge has caused considerable inconvenience. The reopening of one lane will save motorists at least 35 to 45 minutes, particularly benefiting students during the ongoing exam season. Commuters who have endured hardships over the past two years due to inadequate alternative routes will find this especially beneficial."

Aaditya Thackeray has voiced concern about the delayed opening of a section of the Gokhale bridge. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Another resident remarked, "The opening of at least one arm of the Gokhale bridge will provide some relief to motorists. Currently, we are compelled to use detours such as the Andheri subway, which significantly increases travel time. The closure of the bridge has also led to traffic congestion at diversions like the Vile Parle flyover and Andheri subway. The BMC should now expedite the opening of the second lane."

The second arm of Gokhale bridge, a four-lane structure linking the Western Express Highway in Andheri East to S V Road in the west, with a connector to Teli Gali in Andheri East, is scheduled to be completed by December 2024. However, work on the second arm has yet to commence. MLA Ameet Satam, who represents Andheri West, hailed the project as the fastest one executed by BMC. He said. "We are reopening a bridge over the railway portion within 15 months of its closure."

The closure of the Gokhale bridge commenced in November 2022, with demolition works carried out from December 2022 to March 2023. Reconstruction efforts began on December 2, 2023, following a partial collapse of the bridge in 2018.

Originally slated for completion by April 2022, the reconstruction of the bridge faced delays due to the pandemic and technical challenges. Following an expert committee's declaration of the bridge as dilapidated, the BMC decided to undertake its complete reconstruction. Initially, the civic body was tasked with building only the connector, while the Railways was responsible for the bridge over the railway track, according to the original plan.

Dec '22
Month demolition work began