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At any point this year, Vikhroli, Reay Road, Byculla, Gokhale Bridge and the Carnac link will be opened to traffic.
A 2022 impression of an artist, showcasing the then proposed revamped Reay Road Station.
This month, the Elphinstone Road Over Bridge (ROB), a British-era structure in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, which has been an essential part of the city’s transportation system for more than 125 years, will be closed for demolition. Thousands of vehicles and pedestrians use the Elphinstone Road Over Bridge daily. It is built to allow traffic flow between the Western and Central Railway lines. It has long been an essential east-west link.
Although commuters may face challenges due to the closure of the major Elphinstone Road Over Bridge, five other important city connectors—the Vikhroli, Reay Road, Byculla, Gokhale and Carnac bridges—will open to traffic this year.
Vikhroli Bridge:
Problems with land acquisition and the rehabilitation of project participants have caused delays with this structure. To the ire of irate locals, the level crossing gate was shut down in 2011, cutting off east-west communication. Girders were erected above railway lines in April 2024, but approach construction is still ongoing and will take many more months to finish. According to reports, the overall cost of the development is Rs 88.75 crore. Furthermore, the bridge is 615 metres long and 12 metres wide.
Reay Road Bridge:
The Reay Road bridge connects the Byculla East district by passing over the harbour line, passing through the historic Reay Road station and arriving at Mahul Road and the Eastern Freeway. After the IIT’s assessment determined it was dangerous, the authorities demolished it.
The Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDC or MahaRail) is constructing the new, cutting-edge bridge, which features a cable-stayed design similar to the Bandra Worli Sea Link, as part of the reconstruction of eleven road overbridges and one road underbridge in Mumbai and the surrounding areas. Since construction began in February 2022 and will be finished in February 2025, this bridge is among the city’s fastest-built.
With two ramps and six lanes, the new bridge is 385 meters long. The total estimated cost of the bridge, which includes six pairs of cables on the cable-stayed span, is Rs 273 crore.
Byculla Bridge:
It is anticipated that the new Byculla Bridge will be finished by October 2025. In the first phase, traffic will continue to flow on the current structure while a cable-stayed structure is constructed parallel to the current road overbridge without interfering with it.
In the second phase, traffic will be redirected onto the newly built parallel bridge and the current road bridge will be rebuilt at the same spot. This cable-stayed bridge’s construction got underway on December 22, 2021. According to reports, the bridge is 916 meters long and would cost a total of Rs 287 crore.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge:
After being deemed unsafe, this crucial east-west connector was shut down for traffic on November 7, 2022. The bridge has experienced numerous delays over the last two years, with completion originally scheduled for May 2023.
On February 26, 2024, the BMC began construction of the bridge’s two lanes, subject to height constraints. The bridge is now only accessible by light vehicles, such as cars and two-wheelers; buses and trucks have not been allowed to use it. By April 2025, the construction should be finished.
The structure is 90 meters long and 13.5 meters wide and its construction is expected to cost Rs 150 crore.
Carnac Bunder Bridge:
After the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay deemed the 160-year-old Carnac Bunder Bridge, which spans between the Masjid Bunder railway station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, dangerous, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) closed the structure in September 2022 and dismantled it two months later.
The following year, bridge construction began. The bridge’s first girder was launched across railway lines by the BMC and Railways in October 2024, while the second girder was launched in January 2025. Approaches, however, still need to be worked on. It is anticipated that the bridge will open by the end of this year.
According to reports, the girder’s width is 9.50 meters and its length is 70 meters. It is anticipated to cost Rs 53 crore in total and weigh 550 metric tonnes.
