End of an era: Mumbai’s Elphinstone Bridge is gone, but its soul lives on

The spot in Parel over which the historic Elphinstone bridge used to hang, on Sunday. PIC/Ashish Raje

The 112-year-old Elphinstone Bridge was consigned to the history books at 7.14 am on Sunday, with the structure's last spans removed during a block executed by Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MahaRail) on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday. As exclusively highlighted by mid-day last week, the new bridge is ready at Noida and will be transported to the city in parts and assembled like Lego pieces.

A plaque from the old structure

In a finely choreographed overnight operation earlier this week, the Railways began executing the final removal of the remaining Elphinstone Road road overbridge (ROB) panels above the busy Parel-Currey Road section - while keeping the 25 kV overhead equipment (OHE) perfectly stable using beams as the support systems. Central Railway (CR) had, on Wednesday, announced special traffic and power blocks to facilitate the dismantling of panels of the Elphinstone ROB.

The stretch in Parel where the work took place, on Sunday. PIC/ASHISH RAJE

The dismantling work by the authorities was being carried out between Parel railway station and Currey Road railway station. As per a statement, the blocks were carried out over two consecutive nights, April 2/3 and April 3/4, primarily during midnight hours on the section between Byculla railway station (excluding crossovers) and Dadar railway station (excluding platforms).

The new bridge

>> Double-deck bridge: upper for elevated corridor, lower for local traffic
>> Four lanes on each deck; pedestrian path on lower deck
>> Open-web steel girder design over rail tracks
>> Completion target: 2027
>> Executing agency: MRIDC

Train disruptions

There were train disruptions and crowding on Sunday. The Elphinstone/Prabhadevi block was accompanied by another ongoing special traffic and power block for the extension of platforms at Thane and Dombivli stations to accommodate 15-car trains.

Suburban services between Thane and Dombivli remained intermittently cancelled amid the block, leading to fewer trains running and crowded platform on Sunday . As the Dombivli and Thane blocks ended, the pressure was eased, though disruptions continued through the day.

The over-century-old Elphinstone bridge is dismantled between Saturday night and Sunday morning. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The new Prabhadevi bridge

The structure will comprise two levels. The lower deck will cater to regular east-west traffic with two lanes on each side and pedestrian footpaths, while the upper one will form part of the Sewri-Worli Elevated Connector, linking to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the upcoming coastal and eastern freeway corridors. The portion spanning the rail lines will use open-web steel girders to allow wider spans and reduce interference with rail operations below. The bridge is expected to ease congestion in the Parel-Prabhadevi belt.

Key challenges

>> Presence of high-rises, restricting crane movement and lifting operations
>> Narrow approach on the western side of the abutment
>> Heavily corroded and dust-filled bearings, making cutting difficult
>> Cutting at critical locations took approximately an hour and 15 minutes
>> Handling an aged structure with uncertain residual strength

Dismantling strategy

The dismantling was executed in a phased manner due to the complexity of the structure and operational constraints. The following elements were removed:
>> Deck slab
>> Brackets
>> Pipelines and cables
>> Footpath parapets and accessories

Execution plan for major blocks
>> 6 major traffic and power blocks were planned
>> Coordination with MRIDCL to reduce block duration

Phased execution
>> For the first five days, four-hour blocks were taken daily
>> Removal of one panel per day
>> Shifting of OHE using beams and hangers placed over girder tops

Mega block execution (April 4/5)
>> The final mega block included the following critical activities:
>> Removal of 8 longitudinal beams used for temporary OHE shifting
>> Dismantling of two main girders (37 m span, ~25 MT each)
>> Using 800 MT capacity crane positioned outside railway boundary

Machinery and resources deployed
>> 800 MT telescopic crane (main lifting)
>> 700 MT crane (standby)
>> 500 MT crane (support operations)
>> Hydra machines for material shifting
>> 4 vehicles for staff movement (SM Dadar & CSMT coordination)
>> 4 railway tower wagons for OHE work
>> 60 contractor labourers
>> 10 OHE staff per tower wagon
>> 10-15 gas cutters and welding machines

Elphinstone bridge's last bow

Year the bridge was built 1913
Span 37.00 m (in CR section)
Total width: 13.53 m