Gokhale Bridge: Chahal calls for meeting with WR to allocate railway blocks

Mumbai: After inspecting the reconstruction of Gokhale Bridge in Andheri on Monday, municipal commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal called for a meeting with Western Railway (WR) on October 27 to decide on the allocation of railway blocks that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would need to push and place the first girder whose assembling is nearing completion.

“The meeting will be held on Friday at the municipal headquarters to speed up the work of the bridge, including the launching of the first girder,” BMC said in a press note, adding that the girder weighs around 1,300 tonnes and is at a height of around 25 metres.

“The girder will be first pushed 100 metres to the other side, from above the railway tracks. It will then be pushed to the north about 13.5 metres and will be brought down on the pillar at 7.5 metres below.” BMC added in the press note. When asked about the date of the bridge reopening, the civic chief said that the decision would be taken at the Friday meeting.

With the deadline for the completion of the bridge nearing, citizen groups have requested the BMC to share updates fortnightly. Dhaval Shah, founder of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association, said, “We foresee a fortnight delay based on the current situation of the girder. We hope the meeting on Friday results in timely block allocation so that one side of the bridge can be opened this year. Without the bridge, there is a traffic mayhem in the entire region.”

An official from Western Railways said that they have not yet received any proposals for the block for the bridge. “We have not received any proposal for the block. If received, we will respond positively.” a WR official said.

A part of the bridge, a key connector between Andheri east and west, collapsed in 2018, killing two. In September 2022, the bridge was declared unsafe during a routine audit and was completely shut down on November 7, 2022.