BMC firm on partial opening of Gokhale bridge by Diwali

Speaking to The Indian Express, senior officials from the BMC’s bridges department said, “The progress is satisfactory and all agencies are working in synchronisation. There are immediate issues of removal of some encroachments, removal of a billboard in railway premises etc. All agencies are working together and if there is not much rain, we might open it as per schedule during Diwali.”0

Gokhale bridge, a primary east-west link in the western suburbs, was dismantled due to its poor structural health. Since the bridge passed over railway lines, it was dismantled in phases between December and March.
Last month, the first consignment of steel that will be used for assembling Gokhale bridge’s north side girder arrived at Andheri amid massive fanfare.

With heavy rain lashing the city in July, it had been reported that the fabrication work on Gokhale bridge was likely to be delayed by a month owing to floodwaters which had entered the workshop in Ambala, wherein the fabricated steel structure of the new bridge is being constructed and assembled.

While BMC has said the bridge will be opened partially by Diwali, local residents echoed that the civic officials must ensure that the hastened work owing to citizens’ demands must not affect the quality of work adding that the roads remain spic-and-span for a long duration.

Dhaval Shah, director of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association (LOCA) told Express, “When the bridge is made, the civic body must ensure that the road surface sustains at least two monsoon seasons. The officials must ensure that the work is not hastened owing to the citizens demands.”