The BMC completed the trial launch of the first phase of open web girder (OWG) for Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge on Friday. Now, the civic body will carry out the final OWG launch between 12:05 am and 4 am on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The 90-metre girder that will be launched over the railway tracks is the second largest after the Vidyavihar bridge.
The trial launch was carried out between 12 am and 4 am on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. The work was carried out under the inspection of the supervising agency, M/s RITES, Western Railway authorities and the BMC's engineering staff. “The trial run was successful and an about four metre girder was launched on an erected launching pad on the railway portion,” said a civic official.
BMC to undertake carriageways construction work
After launching the first girder, the BMC will undertake construction work of creating the carriageways, with the aim to complete the project in the next two months. The largest span of 99.8 metres has been laid for the Vidyavihar rail overbridge's reconstruction, which is expected to be completed in 2024.
A key connector between the east and west sides of Andheri, the Gokhale bridge was shut for the public in November 2022, after it was declared unsafe. The demolition work of the railway portion of the bridge started a month later. Though the reconstruction work started in January 2023, the BMC failed to keep its promise of opening one lane by May 31. The strike at a steel plant at Rourkela in May and flooding at a Ambala workshop further delayed the delivery of steel to Mumbai. As per the new deadline, one arm of the bridge will be opened by February 15, while the entire structure would be accessible by May 2024. The estimated project cost is Rs90 crore.
