Mumbai: Two lanes of Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge in Andheri to be open before May 31

Mumbai : The BMC has set a target to open two lanes of Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge in Andheri before May 31. At the same time, the civic body is also working on measures to avoid inconvenience to the citizens in the upcoming monsoon season.

After the closure of Gokhale bridge, the vehicles are diverted to Andheri subway and the Captain Vinayak Gore flyover. The BMC repaired and resurfaced the internal roads for smooth functioning of vehicular movement in Andheri. Considering the increasing traffic woes the BMC wants to at least open the two lanes before monsoon. Accordingly, the BMC has requested the western railway to complete the demolition of the bridge by the end of the month. 

New bridge could be assembled only after the existing structure is demolished

The railways has agreed to hand over the west side of the bridge for reconstruction work by February end, said the civic sources. " The bridge will be a pre-fabricated structure that will be constructed in a workshop. After the bridge is completed, the newly made structure will be brought from the workshop to the site. Then the girders of Gokhale bridge will be assembled and launched. But the new bridge could be assembled and launched only after the existing structure is demolished," said the senior civic official.

"Still as a precautionary measure a meeting was held with the officials of the storm water drain and roads department. In case of flooding in monsoon we are working on the mitigation measures that can be implemented to avoid inconvenience to the citizens, " he added. 

The Gokhale bridge, a key connector in Andheri east has been closed for pedestrians and vehicular traffic from November 7 onwards. On the BMC's request, the experts of technical institutes inspected the bridge and suggested reopening of a single lane after carrying out several repair works. But going against the report, the civic body decided to not reopen the bridge till it is reconstructed.