The Himalaya Bridge in south Mumbai, one of the island city's main pedestrian bridges, will soon get an escalator to allow for faster passenger movement. While the project's completion date is March 2024, officials have stated that it will be ready by the first week of January 2024.
A large portion of this bridge collapsed during peak hours in March 2019. That incident led to the death of nine people and injured at least 31 more people. Following this accident, the entire structure was demolished, and a new bridge was built, which became operational in March of this year.
However, the new bridge only had staircases, and the civic body initiated the work of installing the escalator. The new escalator is expected to be operational within two months, as stated by officials.
A civic official stated that the existing staircase will remain where it is now, and the escalator will be an extension of this bridge. Because the majority of commuter inflow occurs from the university side during peak hours, the civic body has decided to install the escalator there the official said.
The cost of adding this new escalator is INR 1.3 crore, while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had to pay INR 6 crore to build the new bridge, which is made of steel.
The bridge connects Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Anjuman-i-Islam University in south Mumbai, passing above D N Road. According to city officials, the escalator is being built adjacent to the pedestrian walkway on the university side.
In other news updates, the BMC has revealed plans to build a foot-over-bridge (FOB) that will connect the railway station to the current skywalk at Cotton Green, in response to the long-standing demand of the local populace. It will be the duty of the selected contractor to secure a "No Objection Certificate (NOC)" from Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) and Central Railway (CR).
The skywalk at Cotton Green does not connect to the railway station. This is causing a huge inconvenience for local residents and commuters. Former local corporator Sachin Padwal emphasized the community's ongoing demand for the FOB. He mentioned that a few years prior, bridge department officials and Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant had visited the location. The proposal has finally begun to move forward, almost ten years after it was first proposed. Padwal further urged the BMC to tear down the current skywalk, saying it was not being used much by people and was only used by drug dealers.
For FOB construction, the BMC started a tender process in June. The project is expected to cost INR 3.33 crore. A quote from M/s. SVJ Inovabuild Pvt Ltd, the lowest bidder, was 23.51% less than the estimated rate. The bridge is expected to cost around INR 4.21 crores in total, including additional costs. With the exception of the monsoon season, the construction schedule is set at 12 months.
Since both CR and MPT will have jurisdiction over the bridge's construction, the chosen contractor must obtain NOCs from both bodies. After obtaining all required permissions, construction is expected to start within the next six months. Two spans, each measuring 50 meters in length and 2.5 meters in width, are included in the design of the bridge.
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