Mumbai: South Central Mumbai is set to experience major traffic congestion as the Elphinstone Road overbridge (ROB), a crucial link between Parel and Prabhadevi over the Central and Western Railway tracks, will be closed for two years. The closure of this crucial bridge will be starting from February 2025, as per reports. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to dismantle and reconstruct the bridge as part of the Sewri-Worli Connector project.
Details On The New Bridge
The new Elphinstone bridge will be a double-decker flyover, enhancing connectivity between Senapati Bapat Road and Dr BR Ambedkar Road. Additionally, an arm of the bridge will offer direct links to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) at Sewri and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link at Worli. The redevelopment aims to improve traffic flow in the long run, but the temporary closure is expected to cause major disruptions.
Initially, the MMRDA considered constructing an underground passage beneath the Parel-Prabhadevi railway tracks to avoid delays in obtaining railway approvals. However, this plan was ultimately scrapped.
Sion Bridge Already Closed, Adding to Woes
Elphinstone bridge will be the fifth British-era bridge in Mumbai to be shut down, following the closures of the Sion ROB, Carnac Bridge, Bellasis Bridge and Reay Road Bridge. The shutdown of these bridges has already led to severe traffic congestion in various parts of the city.
Alternate Travel Options For Commuters
With Elphinstone Bridge out of service, vehicular traffic will be diverted to Tilak Bridge (Dadar) and Currey Road Bridge. However, both these routes are already heavily burdened and the additional load is expected to worsen peak-hour congestion, leading to longer commute times for Mumbaikars.
Aaditya Thackeray's Request To MMRDA
Amid reports of Elphinstone Bridge's closure, Shiv Sena UBT Aaditya Thackeray in a post on X informed that he has requested the MMRDA to postpone the demolition of Elphinstone Bridge keeping in mind the board exams, scheduled in next month. He also insisted that public notices for such procedures to be given well in advance.
In a detailed post on X, Thackeray wrote, "Yesterday I requested the MMRDAOfficial to postpone the demolition of Elphinstone Bridge to post the board exams of thousands of students, who would be inconvenienced due to it."
"Also due to the absence of Sion bridge, and the excessive load that would be transferred to Tilak bridge and Delisle Road Bridge, I have requested the MMRDA to give public notices well in time, more so to coordinate with Traffic Police and BMC to ensure diversions and smooth flow of traffic. I hope the MMRDAOfficial agrees to my humble request," he added.
