BMC, Railways to begin demolition of Bellasis bridge by end of the year

In a recent meeting between the Western Railway (WR) authorities and officials of the BMC’s bridge department, it was decided to begin demolition work from this year. Civic officials said that the project will be carried out jointly by the railways and civic authorities.

“The tendering is in process and BMC will appoint a contractor within next four months, following which demolition works will start. The WR authorities have also assured us that they will appoint the agency within three months,” said an official.

The new bridge will be a cable-stayed structure that will be made of steel and the foundation will be of concrete.

The carriageways will be wider to cater to heavier traffic flow and the clearance above railway tracks will be around 6.5 metres, which at present is around five metres.

While a significant portion of this bridge passes above railway tracks, the bulk of it passes through the area that falls under BMC’s jurisdiction. The portion that passes above railway tracks will be demolished and reconstructed by WR, while the remaining portion will be demolished and reconstructed by BMC.

The BMC will spend Rs 65 crore for the work, while the Railways is expected to spend Rs 40 crore, civic officials said adding it will take 24 months for the construction to be completed after work order is issued.

After the Himalaya Bridge collapse in 2019, the civic body had carried out a structural audit of all existing bridges and skyways of Mumbai. Following which, the civic body had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the railways for demolishing and constructing 11 existing bridges in Mumbai.