The 112-year-old Sion road overbridge (ROB), a key connector between Dharavi, Lal Bahadur Shashtri Marg (LBS) and the Eastern Express Highway, will shut for heavy vehicles and automobiles towering above 2.8 metres from today (June 29) till July 13. The rule applies to both the bounds.
The decision announced by the Mumbai traffic police comes after several delays in fixing dates for closing the Sion ROB, which was set for demolition after being labelled unsafe by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in April 2020.
As per the new restrictions, heavy vehicles will be barred from entering Dr BA Road towards LBS Road and Saint Rohidas Road – both bounds. Instead, the vehicles will ply from Sion Junction to King’s Circle using Sulochana Shetty Road. Starting from Kurla, motorists can opt for the Western Express Highway (WEH) and the Bandra route. Vehicles coming from the WEH can go through Sion-Bandra Link Road via Dharavi T-Junction.
To avoid congestion on these routes, Saint Kabir Road (60 feet), Sion-Mahim Link Road, Matunga Labour Camp, Sulochana Shetty Road, Bhau Dhaji Road, Saint Rohidas Road, Sion-Bandra Link Road, Dharavi-Depot Road and KK Krishna Menon Road will be declared as no-parking zones.
The IIT report suggested that the first two I-girders – the reinforced cement concrete deck slab and the RCC parapet wall have weakened and are deteriorating further. Plants and roots have grown on the bridge, which is impacting the foundation, making it unsafe.
Instead of declaring the demolition dates, the Central Railway’s Mumbai division – which has jurisdiction over the ROB – announced the installation of 3.6-metre height barricades on both sides of the structure to stop the entry of heavy vehicles.
As per the railways' previous plan, the fifth and sixth railway lines between CSMT and Kurla would have been laid during the ROB's demolition. The new corridors meant to segregate the tracks of suburban local trains from that of long-distance trains.
Anticipating that the Sion ROB's closure will lead to extreme vehicular congestion, traffic cops explained that traffic flow will go for a toss because motorists will reroute through Kurla. The detour will not only create bottlenecks at LBS but also disrupt east-west movement.
“We do not have any update on demolition. Yes, it will create traffic chaos, but the priority is safety. Demolition is necessary and we had previously made the blueprint of where the traffic can be possibly diverted once the Sion ROB shuts,” said an official.
However, despite the announcement of the Sion ROB's demolition three times, there is no concrete plan as of now.
