The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) began work on Sunday evening, April 14, to connect the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge in Andheri with the CD Barfiwala Flyover, following the Indian Institute of Technology's (IIT) submission of its final report.
With an INR 8 crore budget set aside for alignment work, BMC plans to finish the project in 90 days, finishing by the end of June or the first week of July, before the monsoon season.
Experts from IIT and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), who offered their preliminary technical insights in a report presented to the local body on March 19, will be present when the project gets underway. Remarkably, the assessment from VJTI suggested that the two flyovers might be combined without requiring destruction.
The civic body intends to work with one of the five contractors that VJTI has recommended through the current contractor working on the Gokhale bridge in an attempt to speed up the merging process while working around the limitations imposed by the ongoing model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls. By-passing the official tendering process is the goal of this strategic strategy.
Prior to this, VJTI and IIT Bombay were assigned to assess whether the two buildings—which differed in height by 2.8 metres (6 feet)—could be combined. The interim assessment from VJTI suggested expanding the merger's four spans and named five specialised agencies that could handle the work.
Recognising the necessity to hire a contractor without launching a formal offer, BMC authorities acknowledged the procedural constraints presented by the model code of conduct. Through the current contractor in charge of the Gokhale bridge's construction, civic chief Bhushan Gagrani oversaw the involvement of one of the suggested firms. Bhushan Gagrani also supported the temporary measure of combining the Gokhale bridge and the north-side arm of the Barfiwala flyover.
The suggested agencies will provide quotes for the merger to the current contractors, SMS Infra and Freyssinet Prestressed Concrete. Soon, a choice regarding the chosen contractor and the agreed terms should be made. Meanwhile, girders for the Gokhale bridge's northern span are being transported from Ambala to Mumbai, and assembly is scheduled to start as soon as the agency is chosen.
The Barfiwala Flyover was built in 2008, starting at Juhu and ending at the north-south arms of the historic Gokhale Bridge, which dates back to 1960. The new bridge was partially opened for traffic on February 26 of this year.
However, because this bridge crosses over railway tracks, the BMC had to build the new Gokhale Bridge at a height of six metres, which caused its arms to be out of alignment with the Barfiwala Flyover due to railway regulations.
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