It is improbable that the significant Gokhale Bridge in Andheri would be opened by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) time frame of November.
Ameet Satam, a local MLA, predicted that a portion of the bridge could be operational in the first week of December.
The November deadline, according to BMC officials, is still conceivable provided that the railways have megablocks available, something civic officials claim was previously communicated to them.
“Approximately 32 structures close to the work site must be demolished before the assembly, according to Satam, chief engineer of the bridge department Sanjay Kaundanyapure, and deputy municipal commissioner Ulhas Mahale, who were all present at the meeting on Monday morning at the bridge construction site”, an official stated.
According to Satam, “there was a breakdown in communication between the bridges department and the neighbourhood ward office. The structures were visible from the beginning, and the current delay in work that has been caused could have been avoided had the BMC worked on their removal,” said Satam.
Abhijit Samant, a former BJP corporator who was present there as well, concurred that the delay was caused by a lack of coordination amongst BMC internal departments.
Only on Monday, during the meeting, when Satam spoke to the municipal commissioner to hasten the process, was permission granted for the demolition of these buildings.
The bridges department insisted on a 15-metre buffer zone surrounding the construction site, despite the K East Ward’s claims that they had received a letter authorising the demolition of buildings within a 10-metre radius.
According to a senior officer from the K East ward, “of the 32 constructions, 19 were considered commercial but were unpermitted. Only four of the remaining 13, all residential, met the eligibility requirements and will need other housing. According to the officer, “We have already requested police protection to facilitate the demolition of these structures by the end of this week. Zoru Bhathena, an activist who was also present at the meeting, predicted that the bridge would open in December.
According to representatives, “the bridges department initially asked for 10 metres of clearance from the ward, which was granted. However, the partially demolished structures will need to be totally removed because the contractor is now requiring more room to move the crane.
“A new bottleneck had developed in the restoration of the crucial Andheri east-west connector, the Gokhale Bridge. 13 buildings on the Andheri east side are to be removed, according to the bridges department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), so that a crane that was recently brought in to assemble the girder may move more easily.
Senior Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials conducted a check of the ongoing construction at Andheri’s Gokhale bridge on Friday. Civic officials claimed after the inspection that the BMC is cooperating with all relevant agencies and is aiming to open one of the Gokhale bridge’s arms by Diwali, as per the original schedule.
The development is satisfactory, and all agencies are coordinating their efforts, according to BMC’s bridges department. The urgent removal of several encroachments, a billboard inside railroad property, etc., are difficulties. Together, all agencies are striving to open it during Diwali as planned, if there is not much rain.
The Gokhale Bridge, a crucial east-west connection in the western suburbs, was demolished because of structural problems. The bridge was taken down in pieces between December and March since it was built over railroad tracks.
The first shipment of steel that will be used to construct the north side girder of the Gokhale bridge landed at Andheri last month amid great hoopla.
It had been claimed that the fabrication work on the Gokhale bridge would likely be delayed by a month as a result of floodwaters entering the workshop in Ambala, where the new bridge’s manufactured steel structure is being built and put together, during the city’s July downpour.
Although the BMC has stated that the bridge will be partly operational by Diwali, local residents have stated that the civic officials must make sure that the rush of work caused by citizen requests does not compromise the quality of work, emphasising that the roads stay spick and span for a long time.
“When the bridge is built, the civic body must ensure that the road surface endures at least two monsoon seasons,” said Dhaval Shah, director of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association (LOCA). The authorities must make sure that the work is not accelerated because of citizen demands.