Mumbai : The issue of steel supply which delayed the work of Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge in Andheri is resolved. Hence, the launching of girders on the railway portion will be complete by the end of September, said MLA Ameet Satam on Thursday.
He visited the site of the bridge along with senior civic officials and once again cleared that BMC is trying to open one lane of the bridge by Diwali.
Gokhale bridge
The Gokhale bridge, an east-west connector, is closed to vehicular traffic and pedestrians from November 7, 2022. Currently, the Andheri subway and the Vinayak Gore flyover are the two alternate routes that motorists now use. While the Andheri subway is one of the most preferred alternate routes, it remains shut most of the time due to massive waterlogging in the monsoon, increasing traffic woes. So, the furious residents association has demanded a timeline of the reconstruction work on the bridge.
Accordingly, MLA Ameet Satam took review of the Gokhale bridge reconstruction work along with P. Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner; Ulhas Mahale, deputy municipal commissioner and other civic officials on Thursday afternoon. "Work on the BMC portion and two piers on the railway portion will be ready by the end of July. Launching of girders on the railway portion will be completed by the end of September, subsequently connecting the BMC and the railway portion. After that, slab and concrete work will be done. We are looking at starting one lane by Diwali," said Satam.
Steel supply issue has been resolved
A senior civic official said, "The issue of steel supply has been resolved and 1,270 metric tons of steel have been purchased for the girder weighing about 1,250 tons. Also, more than 25% of work on the fabrication of the girder is completed in the factory at Ambala." A strike in the steel company at Rourkela in May, delayed the deadline for opening one lane of the bridge by five months.
As per the new deadline, the BMC is working hard to have at least two lanes operational of the bridge by October 2023 and the entire bridge to be opened by the end of December 2023.
