The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to demolish and rebuild the Oshiwara River vehicular bridge on New Link Road in Goregaon. The work on the bridge will be done in phases to avoid major impact on traffic and the bridge will not be completely closed.
The project is expected to cost around INR 20 crore and it will take around 18 months to complete.
The bridge over the Oshiwara River, built around 40 years ago, is considered an important link in Mumbai's western suburbs. The New Link Road is an alternative route to Swami Vivekananda Road (SV Road) and thousands of vehicles ply on this route every day.
In 2022, a structural audit by a consultancy firm appointed by the municipal corporation had found the bridge to be weak and potentially dangerous. After that, a second technical opinion was obtained from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI). Some temporary repair work was done. However, the ban on heavy vehicles weighing more than 16 tonnes on the bridge has been maintained.
The proposal for the reconstruction of the bridge has been submitted to the BMC standing committee for final approval and will be discussed on Tuesday. Under this work, the superstructure, vehicle path, pedestrian path and main girder of the bridge will be demolished and rebuilt. The length of the bridge is about 58 meters and the width is 36 meters.
According to the information given by the municipal officials, the work will be done in phases so as not to disrupt traffic. After getting permission from the traffic police, the actual work is likely to begin in October, that is, after the monsoon.
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