Mumbai’s Sakinaka Marwah bridge misses yet another deadline, residents frustrated

These delays have worsened traffic congestion at Sakinaka Junction, forcing people to take the heavily congested Andheri-Ghatkopar Junction Road. The Marwah Road Bridge was also the shortest route to the Seven Hills Hospital; now ambulances and emergency vehicles have to travel an extra 4-5 km to reach the hospital, potentially jeopardising timely medical care.

“People of Andheri and Chandivali are suffering due to yet another instance of the BMC’s disastrous planning, resulting in hardships for people and an increase in traffic congestion. We have been facing this issue for over three years now, but here seems to be no end in sight. This not only wastes time but also increases fuel consumption and stress levels. They are repeatedly missing the deadlines,” said Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder-member of the Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association.

Once completed, the Marwah Road Bridge is expected to bring much-needed relief by significantly reducing travel time and alleviating congestion at Sakinaka Junction. However, missed deadlines by the civic body’s roads department have led to growing frustration among residents and other road users.

Vivek Kalyankar, chief engineer overseeing the project, said the BMC would hand throw open the bridge by June 30.

“The delay is due to entangled electric cables of the Tata and Adani companies, which are hindering our work. We are addressing the issue and expect to complete the project by the end of this month,” he said.

Bridge collapse and CAG’s criticism

In October 2018, the BMC began considering an extension to the Marwah Road Bridge. However, a part of the bridge wall collapsed during repair work on June 11, 2021, causing visible cracks and raising safety concerns. The BMC then decided to reconstruct the bridge and continued with the same contractor without floating any tender, a decision criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in 2022.

Despite the CAG’s criticism, the BMC approved a significant cost increase for the reconstruction of the Marwah Road Bridge. The original extension project was estimated at Rs 14.22 crore, but when the BMC opted to retain the same contractor, the cost was revised to Rs 26.07 crore.

Subsequently, the project costs further escalated, with the final amount reaching Rs 29.44 crore, including a Rs 3.37 crore increase also sanctioned by the BMC for the completion of the work. The timeline for the bridge’s completion was also extended, shifting from the initial deadline of December 2023 to May 2024.