Journalism of Courage

Changing City: Bridge coming up over Poisar River, connecting Malad and Andheri, BMC floats Rs 250-crore tender

The distance between Malad and Andheri is 12 km, and it takes a minimum of one hour travel time for motorists. The bridge will drastically reduce the travel time.

Written by Pratip Acharya
Mumbai | Updated: October 3, 2025 03:34 PM IST

3 min read

The bridge will be 400 metres long and 35 metres wide. The carriageways will have two lanes on each side for the smooth flow of traffic. The travel time will be brought down to six minutes. (File)

To ease vehicular connectivity in north Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to construct a vehicular bridge that will pass over the Poisar River, connecting the areas of Malad and Andheri.

Why is a connection between these two places necessary?

Andheri and Malad are two important commercial and business zones in suburban Mumbai. While Andheri houses an industrial estate and commercial plazas, Malad houses IT hubs and studios for film shooting locations. As a result, these two spots record a good influx of vehicles during peak hours. These two places are geographically very close to each other. However, they are separated by the Poisar River and Malad Creek, due to which there is no direct connectivity between these two places. The distance between these two places is 12 km, and it takes a minimum of one hour for motorists to travel between these two places via Link Road.

How will the bridge be helpful?

This bridge will originate from behind the Infinity Mall and will extend towards Andheri back road. The back road is in the heart of Andheri, while Infiniti Mall is the heart of Malad. As a result, motorists can move to their desired location easily from here. The travel time between these two places, once the bridge is ready, will be five minutes.

Specifications of the bridge

The bridge will be 400 metres long and 35 metres wide. The carriageways will have two lanes on each side for the smooth flow of traffic. The travel time will be brought down to six minutes.

Some key challenges

The bridge will pass over one hectare of mangrove patch and the Poisar River. Therefore, the civic authorities will have to clear an environmental nod before going ahead with the project.

Current status

The BMC last week floated a Rs 250-crore tender for constructing this bridge. While the idea of constructing this bridge was first mooted in BMC’s Development Plan 2034 model, it was later announced in the civic budget in 2019. However, this is the first time that tenders have been floated.

Timeline for completion

The BMC has set a five-year deadline to complete the bridge.

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Administration speaks

“This project will be vital to decongest the north Mumbai area at a time when the upcoming Mumbai Coastal Road is set to become operational in the next few years. These projects that earlier have been delayed have gained momentum with continuous monitoring and regular reviews,” Piyush Goyal, Union Minister and MP from Mumbai (North).

“The basic idea was to connect the two points (Andheri and Malad). Therefore, we proposed multiple locations as options between these two places from where the bridges could originate. However, after careful assessment, the Lagoon Road and Infiniti Mall sites were confirmed since that will create minimum damage to the environment and mangroves,” Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects).

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