The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued tender notices for the reconstruction of the Himalaya bridge at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Besides, the bridge department had submitted three plans to the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) and they selected a design which had an open- sky plan, an official said.
In February, BMC had shown interest in reconstructing the bridge and the civic body officials have approached the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) seeking approval for the same.
The civic body plans to complete the work by December 2021. The new bridge will be higher than the previous structure. The staircase will be reconstructed with plate-girder technology. It will take nearly nine months to complete the project excluding the monsoon months. The Himalayan bridge was cut by six by eight feet due to welding. So we are going to install steel plate girders,” said the pool department official.
However, the estimated cost for this bridge is INR 6.38 crores. Moreover, the work will begin between January and February 15.
Every day thousands of passengers from the Himalayan bridge used to go to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to catch the local train. There was a need to build a pedestrian bridge on this busy road. When this bridge is being constructed, traffic congestion will be planned under the guidance of the traffic police, but the road will not be closed to pedestrians, the terms of the tender said.
Last year, on March 14 during the evening rush hour, part of the Himalayan bridge collapsed on the road. Six people were killed and 30 others were injured in the accident.
The accident on this bridge caused huge criticism on the municipality and also on the Railway Authority. Three engineers from the pool department were arrested after the crash. Considering the seriousness of the incident, all the bridges in Mumbai were later surveyed. But all eyes were on when the Himalayan bridge would be rebuilt.
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