Mumbai: The alignment work of Andheri's Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge with CD Barfiwala flyover is on schedule and expected to be completed within a month. So, the BMC is planning to open the northern arm of the flyover for traffic movement by the end of June, said a senior civic official.
The one arm of the newly constructed east-west connector, Gokhale Bridge, was opened on February 26. However, due to the height gap of nearly six feet between the Gokhale and Barfiwala flyover, the motorists are facing inconvenience. After facing severe criticism for the blunder, the BMC undertook the alignment work of both the structures from April 14. "The disparity between both structures, previously around 1350 mm, has been significantly reduced to just 100 mm as of last week. The work is expected to be completed in the next 2- 3 days. All the work is expected to be completed by June 5, after which the remaining work involves casting and curating," said a senior civic official.
The work is carried out under the supervision of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT- B) and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI). Meanwhile, the launching of girders and completion of work including surfacing of the railway portion on the southern arm of the Andheri's Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge has been pushed back to November 15. The civic body has allowed the extension of five and half months for the contractor on Monday. So, the entire Gokhale bridge will now be open for traffic only by March 31, 2025. However, the BMC has also imposed a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on the concerned contractor for the delay.
