Mumbai: Second Gokhale bridge girder moves closer to completion

Second girder of Gokhale bridge moved from the east side. Pic/Shadab Khan

The second girder of the Gokhale bridge at Andheri has been moved 25 metres onto the railway track from the east side. The girder must be shifted an additional 86 metres to span the tracks and will then be lowered to a height of 7.5 metres. The deadline for completing this task is set for November 14. Following the girder installation, other works, including crash barriers, asphalting, access roads, streetlights, and road painting, are expected to be completed by April 2025.

The Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge, connecting Andheri East and West, was declared dilapidated and closed in November 2022. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) initially aimed to open two lanes for traffic after launching the first girder by May 2023, but the project was delayed by 10 months. The first half of the bridge finally became operational on February 26, 2024. Currently, the work is progressing rapidly.

After assembling the second girder in August, the BMC moved it from the east side towards the tracks during the night of September 4 and 5, between 10 pm and 5 am Western Railway implemented a midnight mega block to facilitate the operation. "Of the 86 metres, the girder moved 25 metres last night. The first 25 metres posed significant challenges, but now that it's in place, moving it further will be easier. It will progress during the next railway block," said a BMC official.

As with the first phase, the girder is currently at a height of 14 to15 metres from the ground and will be lowered to 7.5 metres once fully positioned. The railway section work is expected to finish by November 14, 2024. After the girders are installed, additional works such as crash barriers, asphalting, streetlights, and road painting are scheduled for completion by April 30, 2025.

All parts of the girder were transported to Mumbai from Ambala, with assembly completed on August 24, 2024. Each girder measures 13.5 metres wide (accommodating 3 lanes in each direction) with a 1-metre-wide walkway, and spans 90 metres in length. The girder weighs approximately 1,300 metric tons. A heavy-duty, 360-degree rotating crane was used due to the limited space at the project site, allowing precise adjustments to the beam and its placement over the rail section.