Mumbai Gokhale Bridge Traffic: Light Weight Vehicles Allowed, Only One Arm Open
Finally, one arm of the east-west link of Andheri’s Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge was opened on February 26, as promised. A three-lane bridge with two lanes of 1.5 lanes each is now available to traffic. Vehicles will be permitted to travel down one arm from each side until the entire project is completed. Currently, only light motor vehicles are allowed on the bridge.
The Gokhale Bridge is a six-lane structure that connects the Western Express Highway in Andheri East to S V Road in Andheri West, with a link to Barfiwala Road in Andheri West. This connector is currently being fixed owing to a flaw that was discovered during construction.
Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs, inaugurated the bridge and praised the BMC for finishing the project in record time. Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar, MLA Ameet Satam, MLA Rutuja Latke, Civic Chief I S Chahal, and other civic officials attended the occasion.
BMC reported that due to changed railway requirements, the bridge’s height over the railway track had to be extended by two metres. As a result, the height difference between the Barfiwala connector and the Gokhale bridge is now unequal. BMC Stated that IIT Mumbai and VJTI Institute experts have been consulted on this topic. “They will submit a report within 15 days.
Chahal claimed in his inauguration speech that the BMC made history while building the bridge and that they are working on building a ramp to connect the Barfiwala connection with the Gokhale bridge. They will not demolish the Barfiwala link, Chahal vowed. The project will be completed by December 31, 2024. “This is the biggest girder to be launched on a railway track, weighing 1,300 metric tonnes. This is one of the busiest railway routes, with trains passing every 3-4 minutes. In addition, BMC finished one arm of the bridge in a record 14 months after the work order was issued, and no other bridge construction was done in this time period,” stated Chahal.
