Mumbai: After a five-year wait, the Delisle rail overbridge (ROB) in Lower Parel is expected to reopen by July. One arm of the bridge is nearing completion and will be opened by the end of May, giving relief to motorists and local residents.
A senior civic official said the reconstruction of the deck slab casting for both open web girders was completed in January. Besides, the painting of open web girders, casting of anti-crash barriers and footpaths is also finished. The work of concrete and mastic asphalt is underway, which will take another 20-25 days. He said the west arm of the bridge, which connects GK Marg with NM Joshi Marg will be reopened after a test by May 25.
A target to complete the work by May 31
After missing its earlier two deadlines in June and December last year, the BMC set a target to complete the work by May 31. However, inadequate supply of gravel coming from ready mix concrete plants in Navi Mumbai affected the work “To maintain quality of work, we needed an adequate supply of gravel. Now the work is nearing completion, and the east side of the ROB will be reopened by July,” the official added.
After the closure of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge in Andheri, the Delisle ROB was shut for traffic and pedestrians on July 24, 2018, when it was declared unsafe by IIT-Bombay experts. However, the work order was issued in January 2020 and its closure has caused immense inconvenience to local residents, even as traffic has been affected in Parel, Dadar TT and Mahalaxmi for the last five years.
