Mumbai Andheri: Gokhale Bridge Opens Partially, But No Sign Of Relief For Commuters

One of the lanes of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge in Mumbai’s Andheri reopened for vehicular traffic on February 26. The change, however, has not resulted in a sigh of relief for commuters in Mumbai’s suburbs. This is due to incomplete alignment work with the Barfiwala flyover next to it.

Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the Maharashtra Guardian Minister, inaugurated the bridge’s southern arm on February 26. Officials from Mumbai’s civic body said light motor vehicles (LCVs) will be permitted to use the bridge.

Notably, the Gokhale Bridge, which connects Andheri East and Andheri West, reopened after 15 months of repairs following a partial collapse of the bridge. However, the second arm, which includes the Barfiwala connector to the flyover, will be out of bounds for another year. This is due to the 1.5-metre height differential between the two bridges.

Also, about 90% of vehicles on the Gokhale Bridge use the Barfiwala Bridge connector to travel to Juhu, which is not currently viable due to a height differential of at least four and a half feet between the Barfiwala Bridge and the newly reconstructed Gokhale Bridge.

Dhaval Shah, the founder of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association, stated that one bridge (Gokhale) will open while the other, which has never had any problems, will remain closed. He said, “It’s shocking that the BMC did nothing to improve the alignment while knowing about the height disparity. This is generating difficulty for lakhs of residents while also wasting productive man-hours, fuel, and energy. The Barfiwala Bridge was used to alleviate traffic on SV Road. However, motorists will now congregate on the SV route, adding to the already congested traffic.”

Another local resident said, “We had to endure long traffic delays because the bridge was closed. It used to take five minutes to get from Andheri East to West, but with the bridge being shut down for years, the time increased to nearly an hour. Now that the bridge has been built, they have committed a huge mistake. Even if they build a ramp, can they do it without blocking the bridge again?”

Meanwhile, Andheri West MLA Ameet Satam stated that the height discrepancy between the Gokhale Bridge and the Barfiwala Flyover would be fixed by December 31.