Mumbai: Himalaya Bridge to get an escalator in 5 months

The new escalator being installed at the bridge. Pic/Sameer Markande

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approved a proposal of Rs 1.29 crore to erect an escalator at the Himalaya foot overbridge (FOB) located opposite Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The escalator will be ready for use in five months. It has taken seven months for the civic body to pass the proposal after the bridge opened for pedestrians in March 2023.

According to BMC officials, the work order for the bridge was floated in May 2021, after the FOB collapsed on March 14, 2019. The original cost of the project was pegged at Rs 6.03 crore. According to the BMC document, while the work was ongoing, the railways suggested that the BMC install an escalator for the bridge.

The BMC had earlier decided to set up an escalator on the side of the footpath of D N Road. Officials claim that the footpath idea was quashed as there were underground utilities coming in the way. The plan was then shifted to the internal road. mid-day had reported on November 9 about the delay in approval of the proposal for the escalator.

According to the proposal, which was passed last week, the installation of escalator will be completed by March 2024. The Himalaya Bridge had collapsed on the night of March 14, 2019, claiming seven lives and injuring more than 30 people. At the time, it was being used by more than 50,000 railway commuters daily.

Mar 2023
Month the bridge was reopened