Mumbai: Gokhle Bridge Girder Launch Planned in December 1st Week; Trains to Run As Usual in Day

A strategic block spanning a brief three-hour window has been put in place in the first week of December for the launch of girders on the Gokhle Bridge that connects SV Road and Western Express Highway in Andheri. The block has been scheduled during the night to avoid any interference in the regular daytime train services.

“The block for launching girders for Gokhle bridge will be taken in the first week of December only for 3 hours at night during the planned block period so there will be no impact on regular train services during the day,” the Western Railway spokesperson said.

To minimize the impact on train service, blocks will be carried out during the night, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Western Railway, Sumit Thakur was quoted by TOI as saying.

According to a report in The Free Press Journal, the focus is to launch the south carriageway girder after the successful launch of the north carriageway girder in October.

Spanning an impressive 90m, this girder will become the city’s second-largest railway bridge girder. The assembly, pushing and launching processes will take place at a height of 25m, the report stated.

According to FPJ, each girder, weighing approximately 1,300 tonnes, will be lifted and launched using a specially designed crane. The Gokhale bridge, constructed in 1975, is undergoing a comprehensive reconstruction estimated at Rs 90 crore.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) aims to partially open the bridge in February 2024, following delays in meeting the initial November 2023 deadline, the report stated.

Local residents had recently sought chief minister Eknath Shinde’s intervention in the matter citing that that the opening of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge has been delayed several times. The move comes to ensure timely completion of the bridge construction, the publication reported.

Dhaval Shah, President of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association was quoted as saying: “At the time when the bridge was shut, we had requested to construct it with the help of the Indian Army who had built the foot over bridge in Parel in record time. Our fear has come true with the fourth extension of the deadline for the opening of Gokhale bridge. We suspect the new deadline will also get extended, so we want the chief minister to intervene.”

Apart from this, the Western Railway on Wednesday announced the cancellation few trains both on the Up and Down main lines between Valsad and Dungri for two hours on November 23 (Thursday).

It cited a girder launch for a railway overbridge as the reason. The train services on this stretch will be affected for two hours between 11.10 AM to 1.10 PM on Thursday.