The decision to dismantle the Britishera Sion road over bridge (ROB) has been shelved for now Originally scheduled for January, the late for the six-month process was pushed to February and then to March 28.
Though the traffic police said they were well prepared for diversions with additional manpower allotted to them as traffic wardens) by the railways, some officials on condition of anonymity rejected the claims. One official said, "Except for the 'closure' signboards that were put up the first time the date was announced, no other preparations were in place; not even the boards announcing the diversions."
Sion ROB carries lakhs of motorists from Sion, Dharavi, Dadar, Chunabhatti, and BKC, while connecting routes like LBS Road, Eastern Express Highway, and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road.
The earlier reasons cited for the postponement were lack of adequate preparations and the Class 10- 12 board exams. This was fol- lowed by the month of Ramdan and the upcoming Eid celebrations from April 9-12. The BMC, Mumbai police, the traffic department and the Central Railway will conduct yet another meeting to finalise the dates, sources said.
MP Rahul Shewale, who had pressed for the postponement, said, "We welcome the decision to suspend the demolition for the time being, given the demands of local people and representatives, school-college examinations and various festivities coming up next month."
The demolition is expected to last up to six months, followed by an 18-month reconstruction. Under the ROB, the railways will be constructing the fifth and sixth lines of tracks connecting Kurla to Parel. The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), in its April 2020 audit report, had raised concerns about the safety of the bridge, de claring it to be unsafe due to its deteriorating structural components.
