Andheri’s Gokhale road bridge closure: Angry residents to hold meeting on Saturday, here's all you need to know

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC on Wednesday said that the concept of the Gokhale railway bridge in Andheri will be finalised within a week The Gokhale bridge was shut down for motorists and pedestrians from November 7 following which the commuters have been facing traffic mayhemMeanwhile the Andheri residents have decided to hold a meeting on Saturday to discuss the issueDhaval Shah an activist told middaycom At least one lane should reopen before the monsoon since the Andheri subway often gets flooded and it will only cause more problems MLA Ameet Satam will also be present in the meeting on Saturday to discuss the problems being faced by the citizensProject phasesIn a detailed press release issued on Wednesday the BMC said a special request has been made by the BMC administration that IIT Mumbai should take action on the concept plan of the Gokhale railway bridge connecting Andheri east and west and finalise the concept within a weekThe work of Gokhale railway bridge in Andheri will be done in phasesHowever after carrying out a structural audit of the said bridge as per the advice of the consultants and in view of the dilapidated condition of the bridge after physical inspection the said bridge has been closed for traffic from November 7 2022 However various alternative roads are available for transportation and public awareness has also been created through hoardings so that citizens should use themAlso Read Mumbai Andheri residents take matters into own handsCivic officials monitor the projects progressAdditional Municipal Commissioner Projects P Velarasu paid a visit on Wednesday and inspected the premises Several senior BMC officials were also present at the spot during his visitWhen contacted Velarasu stated that a detailed press release had been issued in the matterDuring this inspection the Additional Commissioner gave instructions includingndash1 Various metro projects are underway on Swami Vivekananda Marg The protective walls barricades installed for these works should be narrowed so that more space is available for traffic A request has been made to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA The Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA has accepted this request2 The Deputy Commissioner Circle 4 has been directed to remove hawkers and encroachments from alternative routes available for traffic within two days Similarly instructions have also been given to ensure that vehicles are not parked illegally on alternate routes3 To ensure a smooth flow of traffic on alternate routes instructions have been given to both the assistant commissioners that the roads should be resurfaced immediately where necessary This work should be done at night so that the traffic will not be disturbed4 The concept plan design of the Gokhale railway bridge has been given to IIT Mumbai for reexamination The BMC has contacted IIT Mumbai to take immediate action on the concept and finalise it IIT Mumbai has agreed to finalise the said concept within a week As soon as the concept is received with final approval further administrative action will be taken up immediately through the bridge department of the Municipal Corporation5 The work on the aforementioned bridge has been prioritised and two lanes will be opened for traffic by May 2023 The remaining two routes will be made available by September 2023Meanwhile the BMC is going to keep a close eye on the alternative routes made available for traffic in this area Also care is being taken to ensure that the traffic on these alternative routes remains smoothIn terms of manpower an additional 200 people have been assigned to help with traffic police BMCs action planHawkers and encroachments are obstructing alternative routes and traffic will be removed within the next two daysAn additional 200 troops have been deployed to help the traffic policeCommuters officegoers face traffic hasslesThe locals said that it is not just a dayrsquos problem but it will go on for two or more years until the bridge is opened again after reconstructionThe Mumbai traffic police have stationed additional officials around Andheri to control the traffic and ensure smooth traffic flow However the increasing vehicular traffic movements would still lead to traffic snarlsArvind Kushalkar a resident of Andheri who travels to Sakinaka for work told middaycom It takes me around 40 minutes to reach Sakinaka when I travel by bike After the Gokhale bridge was closed it took me around an hour just to reach Mograpada from Andheri west The traffic is massive on all the roads around Andheri and the traffic cops have stationed additional officials but the traffic is still increasing as the volume of traffic on a specific route has increasedAnother local resident Anil Pawar said I have been frequently using Gokhale bridge for many years now This is the most convenient bridge for commuters travelling from west to east and viceversa On Sunday the bridge was closed at night due to traffic issues that began around the area Many people are taking the alternate route which has led to traffic jams around AndheriAlso Read Gokhale Bridge closure All alternative routes get jammed on Day 1The 2018 tragedyThe Gokhale bridge connects Andheri east and Andheri west Before being closed to traffic the bridge was being used by thousands of commuters every day On July 3 2018 the pedestrian section of the bridge collapsed It caused the deaths of two people and injuries to three others The portion of the bridge which had crashed was under the jurisdiction of the railwaysMLA Ameet Satam said In 2018 after the incident the work was to begin but it got delayed due to many reasons including the Covid19 pandemic I have been in touch with the civic officials and have also appealed to complete the work as soon as possible Until then I appeal to the motorists and the local residents have patienceTraffic police deploy additional forceThe Mumbai Traffic Police have stationed additional officials to tackle the traffic on the optional routes According to a recent traffic the police stated that the Gokhale bridge had been declared dangerous and BMC has planned to demolish the bridge and reconstruct it The Mumbai Traffic Police have suggested six alternative routes for the motoristsAccording to the traffic police the BMC had requested to close the existing Gokhale bridge with immediate effect as the said bridge was found unsafe for vehicular trafficAn order issued by Nitin Pawar DCP traffic western suburbs said In view of the safety of the people the Gokhale bridge at Andheri is closed from both sides for all types of vehicles and pedestrians from November 7 until further ordersSix alternate routes for vehicular movementsThe Mumbai traffic police has issued six alternate routes for vehicular movements The order further said that in view of the prohibitory order people can use alternative routes Khar Subway Khar Milan Subway flyover Bridge Santacruz Mumbai Captain Gore flyover 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