Three months after the dismantling process began, the Gokhale Bridge which is a crucial connector in Mumbai’s Andheri West has been completed. The Western Railway (WR) carried out the final phase of demolition from late Saturday night to early Sunday morning.
The entire site will be given over to the civic organization Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) within days which will carry out the reconstruction of the project.
Also, Sumit Thakur, WR’s chief spokesperson, claims that the BMC will receive the east side by 31 March and will soon hand over the west side.
The BMC has already begun work on the bridge’s reconstruction. The reconstructed bridge’s two lanes should be ready for traffic by the end of May 2023, according to the current plan. The entire bridge, which is on one of the busiest routes in the suburb, should be open to the public by September of this year.
The entire Andheri region has been experiencing severe traffic congestion ever since the key bridge was closed. Congestion has hampered every alternative route that connects the suburb’s east and west sides.
Residents of the city have been requesting that the authorities move quickly with the work.
After structural audits revealed that the bridge between Vile Parle and Andheri stations was beyond repair.
One part of the bridge was caved in 2018, which led to the deaths of two people. The bridge’s repairs had begun, and the BMC decided to partially keep it open to traffic. But On 7 November, the Authorities completely closed it.