Considering the traffic chaos and inconvenience to pedestrians after the closure of Gokhale bridge, the BMC has asked experts from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute whether one lane of the derelict infra can be used for light motor vehicles (LMVs). In another move to expedite the bridge reconstruction, the BMC on Thursday also agreed to pay over Rs17.65 crore to the Western Railway for the demolition of the railway portion. Meanwhile, the WR has floated a tender for demolition, which will reopen on Dec 2.
In a high-level meeting held last week at Mantralaya, it was decided to seek a second opinion on the structural report and evaluate if one lane can be used for light vehicle movement, including bikes and three-wheelers. Accordingly, the bridge department of the BMC has written a letter to the technical institutes. “Due to the closure of the bridge, the east-west connectivity is blocked at Andheri for common public and commuters have to walk all the way up to Balasaheb Thakre bridge at Jogeshwari or up to Captain Vinayak Gore Bridge at Vile Parle/Milan Subway/Milan ROB,” the letter read.
It further stated, “There is a strong demand from political parties to open the existing Gokhale bridge's single lane in each direction for two and three wheelers. We request for an expert opinion on whether existing bridge approaches can be allowed for nine months, up to August 31, 2023, by adopting suitable measures.” A senior civic official of the bridge department said that the replies from both the institutes are likely to come by the end of next week. Further decisions will be taken accordingly.
Speaking about the payment to railways, BMC Additional Commissioner (projects) P Velarasu said, “As it was principally agreed on, the BMC would pay the cost of demolition to the Western Railways soon.”
The Gokhale bridge was closed to pedestrian and vehicular movement from Nov 7.
