MUMBAI: More than two months after one arm of Lower Parel’s arterial Delisle road over-bridge, connecting G K Marg with N M Joshi Marg, was opened for traffic, the BMC plans to open the left portion of the second arm, connecting Lower Parel with Currey Road, before Ganeshotsav, which begins on September 19.
Concreting work is complete and asphalt-related works have begun on this section, said civic officials. “We are pushing to complete the concreting and ducting works on the right portion of the second-arm of the bridge and open the entire structure by October-end,” said a senior BMC official. The initial deadline for the reopening of the bridge was May 2022, which has been pushed three times so far.
Delisle bridge was shut after IIT-Bombay inspected the structure in the aftermath of the Gokhale bridge crash in Andheri in July 2018. The IIT-B report stated that it was corroded. Since it was an arterial connector, spanning stations on the central and western railway lines as well as the main roads alongside, the business hubs of Lower Parel, Worli, Currey Road, Lalbaug and Prabhadevi were hit when it was shut for restoration. Currently, the entire traffic load is on Elphinstone ROB to the north and Chinchpokli ROB to the south, both of which are British-era bridges too.
The opening of a portion of the second arm will come as a relief to local residents as well as officer-goers, but some fear that it may put extra pressure on the structure with loads of devotees expected to flock to Lalbaug and the nearby areas for Ganpati darshan, beginning September 19. Gopichand Desai, chairman of Lower Parel Mitra Mandal, said, “This portion of the bridge is likely to see heavy traffic, especially during Ganeshotsav when lakhs of people visit the pandals in Lalbaug area Efforts should have been made to speed up the work and open the entire bridge at the earliest.”
Advocate Dhanpal Solanki Jain, who lives in Worli, pointed out that it is inconvenient for Worli and Lower Parel residents to reach hospitals, schools and markets located in the Currey Road area. “We hope the new bridge is opened soon. We have suffered enough,” said Jain.
Concreting work is complete and asphalt-related works have begun on this section, said civic officials. “We are pushing to complete the concreting and ducting works on the right portion of the second-arm of the bridge and open the entire structure by October-end,” said a senior BMC official. The initial deadline for the reopening of the bridge was May 2022, which has been pushed three times so far.
Delisle bridge was shut after IIT-Bombay inspected the structure in the aftermath of the Gokhale bridge crash in Andheri in July 2018. The IIT-B report stated that it was corroded. Since it was an arterial connector, spanning stations on the central and western railway lines as well as the main roads alongside, the business hubs of Lower Parel, Worli, Currey Road, Lalbaug and Prabhadevi were hit when it was shut for restoration. Currently, the entire traffic load is on Elphinstone ROB to the north and Chinchpokli ROB to the south, both of which are British-era bridges too.
The opening of a portion of the second arm will come as a relief to local residents as well as officer-goers, but some fear that it may put extra pressure on the structure with loads of devotees expected to flock to Lalbaug and the nearby areas for Ganpati darshan, beginning September 19. Gopichand Desai, chairman of Lower Parel Mitra Mandal, said, “This portion of the bridge is likely to see heavy traffic, especially during Ganeshotsav when lakhs of people visit the pandals in Lalbaug area Efforts should have been made to speed up the work and open the entire bridge at the earliest.”
Advocate Dhanpal Solanki Jain, who lives in Worli, pointed out that it is inconvenient for Worli and Lower Parel residents to reach hospitals, schools and markets located in the Currey Road area. “We hope the new bridge is opened soon. We have suffered enough,” said Jain.
