Mumbai: New Sion bridge to open soon after replacing 112-year-old colonial-era structure

A newly constructed bridge which has replaced a 112yearold colonialera overpass next to Sion railway station in Mumbai is expected to open to traffic soon civic officials saidAccording to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC the new bridge has a single span of 545 metres and a width of 29 metresPillarfree design to help with traffic congestionOfficials said that its pillarfree design over the railway tracks will provide sufficient space for the proposed fifth and sixth railway lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Kurla as per PTIBMCs Additional Municipal Commissioner Projects Abhijit Bangar talking to media highlighted that the new bridge is expected to open for traffic soon though the date is not yet finalisedAccording to a few other officials the bridge will most likely open to traffic in the second half of October and is expected to ease traffic congestion in the Sion Kurla and Dharavi areasThe old bridge was declared unsafe following a structural safety audit by IIT Bombay in 2019 Authorities subsequently decided to dismantle it and reconstruct it to pave the way for two additional railway lines under the Mumbai Urban Transport ProjectSion bridge open after two yearsOfficials while speaking about the bridge said that the reconstructed bridge will be opened to traffic after an interval of two yearsIn the absence of the bridge vehicles were forced to take detours via the Dharavi bridge the BKCChunabhatti Link Road or the SantacruzChembur Link Road leading to congestion in the areas over the last two yearsOnce opened to traffic the bridge will reduce congestion in Dharavi Sion and Kurla as the old structure was one of the main eastwest connectivity links in the northern part of Mumbais island city Dharavi is expected to benefit significantly from the bridges reopeningEntire project funded by Central RailwayOfficials further said that Central Railway has reconstructed the main bridge or girder section over the railway tracks while the BMCs bridges department has reconstructed and strengthened the approach roadsAccording to the BMC the entire project is being funded by the railway authorities Earlier this month Bangar inspected the reconstruction work and directed officials to complete the project on priority He set October 15 as the deadline for completing all worksBMC said that although the tender schedule envisages completion by February 2027 Bangar had directed officials to open the bridge before the original deadline as per PTICentral Railway completed concreting of the deck slab on the first 500tonne steel girder on August 21 and on the second girder on August 29 Work on the crash barriers and the concrete wearing coat was subsequently completedAccording to the BMC reconstruction of the western approach road connecting Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg to Sant Rohidas Marg in Dharavi was in its final stagesThey further added that a portion of the land on the eastern side was handed over by Central Railway to the BMC on August 25 allowing work on the eastern approach road to begin as per PTIWith inputs from PTI