Very soon, footpath on either side of Gokhale bridge will be under repairs. Due to this, the vehicular traffic on this bridge may worsen. In the next couple of days, the Western Railway (WR) will finalise the contractor who will repair the footpath that collapsed. Once work starts, there shall be difficulty for the motorists using the bridge for going towards Western Express Highway and Juhu.
As per plans, the WR authorities will first rebuild the footpath, which had collapsed on July 3 resulting in the death of two people and three others sustaining injuries. They will now reconstruct the footpath on the road itself which will jut out 50 cm. Earlier, the footpath was a good 2 metres built on a cantilever, and was not connected to the main girder. The cantilever bridge is highly corroded and needs immediate attention.
“We will be finalising the contractor very soon. We shall be replacing both the pedestrian walkways,” said Sanjay Mishra, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai), Western Railway.
This would mean that width of both the sides of this 2-lane road would curtail. The width of most of the ROBs is 9-12 metres with two to three-lane roads on either side, which also includes 1.5-2 metre-wide footpaths. At present, only two lanes are available on this narrow ROB that is causing hardship to motorists.
TO BE REPAIRED
- Kennedy, Grant Road
- Carol, Grant Road
- Bellasis in Mumbai Central
- Elphinstone Road-Parel bridge
- Bandra (Mahim Causeway)
- Andheri Gokhale bridge
- Vasai Road
