A BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) official announced on Saturday that the initial girder of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale railway overbridge, currently under construction, is scheduled to be lowered in the early part of the upcoming year, The Indian Express reported. The operation is anticipated to take place during the night spanning January 1 and 2.
What is lowering the girder?
An official said that all railway authorities were given the project plan, blueprint and documents on December 29 in order to get the final approval for the lowering of the girder. The entire bridge will be in place once the approval comes through, they added.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale railway overbridge
The Gopal Krishna Gokhale railway overbridge is the second-longest railway overbridge (ROB) in Mumbai with a length of 90 metres.Vidyavihar ROB in the eastern suburbs is the longest at 99.8 metres. The open web girder (OWG) weighs around 1,300 metric tonnes.
Previously, the old Gokhale bridge that was pulled down was 77-metre long.
In November 2022, the Gokhale ROB, a vital east-west link in Mumbai, was shut down due to concerns about its weakened structural stability. Following the closure, the railways dismantled the old structure in December of the same year, and the construction of the new bridge was initiated with a work order released in January of the current year.
When will the bridge open to the public?
As per the report, the BMC has established a target date of mid-February to open one side of the bridge for vehicular traffic. According to civic officials, each side will feature three lanes accommodating east-west traffic flow. Following the installation of the initial girder, the BMC will proceed with the final phase, focusing on constructing asphalt roads on the bridge to facilitate vehicular movement. The open web girder (OWG) is an assembled structure manufactured in an Ambala workshop and transported to Mumbai, where it was pieced together in close proximity to the construction site.