Mumbai’s 110-year-old Sion bridge moves closer to reopening as new girders launched

Girders will be pushed over the rail lines for one lane tonight. PIC/RAJENDRA B AKLEKAR

The Sion Road Over Bridge moved a step closer to completion this weekend as Central Railway (CR) took up a major block to launch girders onto the structure, with one lane now nearing readiness.

Girders for the bridge, sourced from Ambala and assembled at the Sion site near the Kalyan end, will be placed over the rail lines during an overnight block on the night of June 13 and 14. The work is part of 5th and 6th lines between CSMT and Kurla.

"The assembled girders will be pushed over the rail lines for one lane tonight. Following this, other finishing works will be taken up and one lane could be commissioned this year itself restoring connectivity," an official said.

The 110-year-old bridge, which links the Eastern Express Highway to LBS Road and Dharavi Road, had been declared structurally unsafe several years ago. An IIT audit report had flagged its dilapidated condition as early as 2020.

CR and the BMC are jointly rebuilding the bridge. The portion of the old bridge spanning the tracks, about 40 metres long, will be extended to 51 metres once work is complete. The block, which will run from 12.10 am to 4.10 am between Matunga and Kurla on all lines.

Several long-distance trains will face regulation including the Konark Express, Howrah-CSMT Express and Mangaluru-CSMT Express. Suburban services between CSMT-Kurla and Thane-Kalyan will be suspended during the block, with numerous locals cancelled, short-terminated, or made to originate from alternate stations such as Kurla, Thane and Kalyan.

110
Age of the bridge, which had been declared unsafe in 2020