Five years after dismantling, BMC opens skywalk at Bandra East

At present, the junction is only connected to the Bandra railway station by a minor road. However, the condition of the road is not in a good condition and is so heavily encroached by hawkers and illegal vendors that citizens find it difficult to walk on it.

As a result, the citizens have to rely on auto-rickshaws, who would harass them often with exorbitant rates. Therefore, while inaugurating the flyover, Shelar said the new skywalk will provide a much better access to citizens and decongest the road below.

The new flyover has been equipped with two automated escalators. Besides this, the new flyover also has four staircases installed on it. For added security measures, the BMC has installed 14 CCTV cameras in the skywalk. The previous skywalk had only two access points as a result of which citizens wouldn’t prefer using it.

The original flyover was built in 2008 by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and it was in 2019, a structural audit carried out by the BMC found out that the skywalk is not in a good condition. Following which the authorities in 2021 initiated demolition work for the flyover to rebuild a new structure.

However, the deadline for the project got delayed multiple times owing to issues like removal of utility channels as well as removal of encroachments.

“Due to heavy traffic on the WEH, construction work could be carried out only during limited midnight hours.

Further, the continuous pedestrian movement on the road beneath the skywalk necessitated special precautions during construction,” Shelar said during the inauguration of the flyover.

Meanwhile, Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (projects) said the skywalk will prove to become a safe road crossing facility.