Mumbai: Confusion reigns supreme at the site of the new cable-stayed bridge that will connect Rani Baug in Byculla East with Nagpada junction in Byculla West. The bridge will run parallel to two existing unidirectional ROBs and the nearly century-old bridge over the railway tracks in Byculla that was deemed unsafe in an audit by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
“As a first step, we are constructing a parallel bridge next to the existing bridges,” said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official aware of the matter. “Once that is complete and usable, we will move the traffic there and pull down the old bridges so they can be constructed afresh.”
Eventually, the new structures will be amalgamated into a single, six-lane bridge, with three lanes each for north and southbound traffic, the official said.
But Byculla residents and motorists who have witnessed the transformation of the area are not convinced and say construction activities have ruined the neighbourhood and made the footpaths unwalkable.
Need for new bridge
The existing bridge across the railway tracks in Byculla was constructed in 1922. The 103-year-old structure was among the bridges flagged unsafe and dilapidated by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in a structural audit following the collapse of the Gokhale bridge in July 2018.
But like in the case of other dilapidated bridges in the city, it took a while for reconstruction work to begin. The BMC initially undertook temporary repairs on the existing structure before floating a joint venture in 2020 with MahaRail or the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC) to construct a new 916-metre bridge by amalgamating the two existing unidirectional road over bridges (ROBs) and the Byculla rail bridge at a cost of ₹287 crore.
“The portion where the new bridge crosses the railway tracks will be cable-stayed to minimise the need for constructing piers in between railway tracks,” the official quoted earlier said. “But the remaining parts of the bridge will not be cable-stayed – instead, it will run parallel to the existing unidirectional ROBs.”
The unidirectional ROBs will also be pulled down and reconstructed as they are “structurally intertwined” with the railway bridge and their height needs to match the upcoming cable-stayed bridge, the official said.
Motorists in the dark
Though work on the new bridge started in 2023 and nearly two years have passed since, Byculla residents and motorists are utterly confused about how it will all pan out.
“I’m not entirely sure where this bridge will land and when we can get a clear picture about it,” said Abbas Chatriawala, who lives in the area
Sahil P, an infrastructure enthusiast, said he was “still confused” about how the cable-stayed bridge would be integrated with the two existing unidirectional flyovers on either side of the railway tracks.
Chatriwala also raised concerns about the structural stability of the old railway bridge, which will continue to remain in operation till the new structure is ready.
“There is always some waterlogging on the sides of the bridge during the monsoon, and the steel is visibly corroded and rusted. Are we waiting for a disaster to happen,” he wondered.
The civic body had spent a large amount to beautify footpaths along the road under the new structure, said Chatriwala. “But MRIDC has ruined it all and removed all the trees, making the footpaths horrible and unwalkable.”
Shifting deadline
The Byculla bridge was supposed to be completed by July 2024, which could not be met due to delays in the shifting of various utilities and removal of encroachments, said sources in the civic body.
“We are now hoping to finish work on the bridge by the end of this year,” said the official quoted earlier.