After 15-month wait, Mumbaikars can partially use Gokhale bridge in Andheri from today

livemint.com:

Gokhale Bridge is all set to re-open partially in Andheri on Monday, February 26. Mumbai's Guardian Minister (Suburbs) Mangal Prabhat Lodha will inaugurate the bridge today. It is expected that the bridge will be fully operational by December 2024.

Residents have expressed some relief over the partial re-opening of the bridge that was shut for the past 15 months. A resident told Mid Day that it will provide some relief to motorists as the current travel is much more than usual because the commuters were compelled to use detours such as the Andheri subway. “The closure of Gokhale bridge led to traffic congestion at various diversions like Andheri subway and Vile Parle flyover.

Now, the BMC should focus on opening the second lane of the bridge," he told the news outlet. Dhaval Shah, a civic activist said the closure of the Gokhale bridge has caused miserable inconvenience to residents, but now the reopening of one lane will save motorists around 45 minutes. “Particularly, it will benefit students during the ongoing exam season." Built-in 1975, Gokhale Bridge is 80 meters long and 25 meters wide and is getting a new road overbridge at the estimated cost of around ₹90 crore.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had earlier planned to open the bridge partially in February 2024, though the initial deadline for the bridge was November 2023. The demolition of the bridge began by Western Railway in December 2022 and took four months to complete the work, with its final girder taken down in March 2023. The under-constructing Gokhale Bridge’s girder will be 90 meters, which will be the second-largest railway bridge in the metropolitan city.