Replacement of Tilak bridge in Dadar to begin construction in October

Keeping up with the vibe of the locality, the new bridge will be decorated with lighting and will have selfie points for tourists as well.

The existing Tilak bridge over the railway lines near Dadar railway station was built in 1925. It was declared dilapidated after a structural audit in 2019. It is a crucial link giving east-west connectivity in Central and South Mumbai. Its importance has grown even more since Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2018 demolished the Delisle Bridge in Lower Parel. The Tilak bridge connects Dadar East and West and also gives connectivity to traffic from Lower Parel and Mahim to the Eastern Express Highway.

To ensure connectivity is not hampered, MRIDC will only demolish Tilak Bridge after one arm of the new bridge is constructed. This will be a cable-stayed bridge and will be constructed in two phases. In the first phase, the construction of a new bridge adjacent to the old bridge will be completed without disturbing the existing traffic flow. Then the traffic will be diverted to a new bridge and the old bridge will be dismantled.

In the second phase, the reconstruction of the other side of cable stay bridge will be completed.

The total length of each part of the cable-stayed bridge is 663 metres and the width of each part is 16.7 metres. There will be 3 + 3 lanes for traffic.

An MRIDC spokesperson said, “The construction of cable-stayed bridge will be completed in 640 days but it is dependent on the handover of right of way (ROW) by BMC and Central Railway.”

The spokesperson said some portions of land required for construction are either owned by the Railways or BMC.