The many extensions of the deadline to open one side of Andheri’s much-awaited Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge have upset the residents, who have now requested civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal to appoint a senior officer for day-to-day monitoring of the work. Citizens have also pointed out several pending works that might further delay the project.
The closure of the east-west connector has increased the traffic woes in Andheri. To end the inconvenience, the BMC had earlier promised to open one side of the bridge by May 31 last year. However, delays owing to various reasons resulted in missing the deadline for the fifth time. Last week, Chahal instructed officials to complete the work on a war-footing by February 29.
Dhaval Shah, the founder of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens’ Association said, “We don’t think the BMC will be able to open one side of the bridge by the end of February. Office-goers have been inconvenienced since last year. By opening one side, they can at least give relief to students who will be appearing for their board exams in March. We want the civic authority to share their daily plans to assure us of the timeline.”
A letter signed by environment activist Zoru Bhathena and several others has pointed out that even the approach road to the bridge is yet to be built. “A pedestrian staircase has been planned. However, we cannot see any such staircase under construction, nor any entry spot for such a staircase. We would like to know what provisions have been made for pedestrians to use this bridge. We cannot see any work ongoing for the second phase. The girders haven’t even arrived at the site from Ambala,” the letter points out.
The bridge was closed for vehicular and pedestrian movement on November 7, 2022, after it was declared unsafe in an audit. The reconstruction began in April 2023. The BMC has failed to keep its promise of opening one lane by May 31 last year, pushing the deadline for the fifth time to February 15 this year. The sixth deadline is February-end.
