Better planning needed while demolishing old bridges

Locals say that if this road were opened first, the pressure on traffic after the closure of the Prabhadevi road would be eased to a great extent

Even as the Mumbai traffic police mulls logistics and dates of closure of the arterial Elphinstone bridge, taking into consideration all demands and appeals, Dadar residents have reminded the authorities of an earlier planned ‘Development Project’ (DP) road, crossing over the rail lines, between Dadar and Parel-Prabhadevi stations, our report said. Locals say that if this road were opened first, the pressure on traffic after the closure of the Prabhadevi road would be eased to a great extent.

They stated in our report, which has gained an avalanche of responses, seeing how vital it is, that while they welcome the double-decker bridge at Prabhadevi station, expected road diversions and delays during construction will severely impact commuters and worsen congestion in Dadar. The razing and reconstruction of Elphinstone bridge will put immense strain on the already overburdened road network in Dadar. The DP Road may alleviate this to some extent.

If there is some merit in this, maybe meetings with stakeholders, experts, traffic police, different agencies can start and the new road linking Hindmata junction in Dadar East to the Pramod Mahajan garden in Dadar West, designed to decongest can begin. After all, it is now not about the demolition of Elphinstone only, it is about all the mayhem and chaos that will accompany it.

Meanwhile, groundwork has to be perfect before demolition, with clear signage about diversions. More traffic cops deployed to spots at least for the first three months, as citizens are still getting used to the new route. Dust pollution mitigation measures must be in place during demolition and building of the new bridge. This is one of the major infra projects of the year. Let’s try to be as well prepared as possible from inception to finish.

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