The Western Railway authorities will enforce an 8-hour-long special traffic block for dismantling the Gokhale Bridge. The block will start around 10pm on March 11 and continue till the wee hours of Match 12. Traffic on the 'down' slow and 'up' and 'down fast lines will be closed during the period. Only 'up' line (towards Churchgate), slow local line and Harbour Line services will continue to ply.
Dismantling work to be completed by March 14
“The work will be completed by March 14 and the Railways will hand over the site to the BMC on March 15,” a senior WR officer said, adding that the two remaining girders will be removed during the operation. Two girders of Gokhale Bridge have already been dismantled while two remain. After dismantling the girders, WR will complete the rest of the work by March 14, following which the site will be handed over to the BMC for construction of the new bridge.
“Piling work for the new structure was started this week. We are trying to open one lane of the bridge for vehicular and pedestrian movement before the monsoon,” said a BMC official. According to the official, the work of launching girders for the new bridge above the railway tracks can be completed only after demolition work of the old structure is finished.
Gokhale bridge scheduled to be completed by September
A key east-west connector in Andheri, Gokhale Bridge has been shut for pedestrian and vehicular traffic since November 7, 2022, after being declared unsafe. On the BMC's request, experts from technical institutes inspected the bridge and suggested reopening a single lane after carrying out several repair works. The civic body, however, decided to reopen the bridge only after its reconstruction. Work is expected to be completed by September 2023.
