Relief for Mumbai commuters: 5 key bridges set to open soon—All you need to know

While the closure of the arterial Elphinstone Road road overbridge later this month is giving some Parel residents and commuters sleepless nights five other key connectors across the citymdashthe Vikhroli Reay Road Byculla Gokhale and Carnac bridgesmdashwill be opened to motorists this year itselfThe cabledstayed Reay Road bridge File PicShadab Khan1 Reay Road bridgeThe Reay Road bridge runs through the heritage Reay Road station connecting the Byculla East area passes over the harbour line and reaches Mahul Road and the Eastern Freeway It was demolished by the authorities after it was declared dangerous by the IIT in an audit The new stateoftheart bridge has a cablestayed design like the Bandra Worli Sea Link and is being built by the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited MRIDC or MahaRail as a part of rebuilding 11 road overbridges and one road underbridge in Mumbai and suburban regions This is one of the fastest constructed bridges in the city as work started in February 2022 and was completed in February 2024Cost Rs 273 croreNumbers The new bridge is 385 metres long and has two ramps and six lanes There are six pairs of cables on the cablestayed spanThe Carnac Bunder bridge which is expected to be opened by the end of the year on August 23 2024 PICSAYYED SAMEER ABEDI2 Carnac Bunder bridgeThe 160yearold Carnac Bunder bridge which is located between the Masjid Bunder railway station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus was declared dangerous by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay following which the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC closed the structure in September 2022 and dismantled it two months later Work on the bridge started the following year The BMC and Railways launched the first girder of the bridge across railway lines in October 2024 and the second girder in January 2025 However work on approaches is yet to be completed The bridge is expected to open by the end of this yearCost Rs 53 croreNumbers The length and width of the girder are 70 metres and 950 metres respectively It weighs 550 metric tonnesThe underconstruction Vikhroli bridge on August 13 2024 PICSAYYED SAMEER ABEDI3 Vikhroli bridgeThis structure has been delayed because of land acquisition issues and the rehabilitation of projectaffected people In 2011 the level crossing gate was closed to the outrage of infuriated locals severing eastwest connectivity It was in April 2024 that girders were placed over railway lines but work on approaches is still going on and will take a few more months to be completedCost Rs 8875 croreNumbers The respective length and width of the bridge are 615 m and 12 m4 Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridgeThis crucial eastwest connector was closed for traffic on November 7 2022 after being declared unsafe Originally expected to be completed by May 2023 the bridge has faced multiple delays over the past two years The BMC started two lanes of the bridge on February 26 2024 with height restrictions Currently only light vehicles including cars and twowheelers can ply the bridge which hasnrsquot been opened for buses The structure is expected to be completed by April 2025Cost Rs 150 croreNumbers The length and width of the structure are 90 metres and 135 metres respectivelyGraphicYogesh Jain and Suhas Kale5 Byculla bridgeWork on the new Byculla bridge is expected to be completed by October 2025 In the first stage a cablestayed structure is being built parallel to the existing road overbridge without disturbing the existing one and traffic will be continuous on the existing structure during this stage In the second stage the existing road bridge will be reconstructed at the same location after diverting traffic on the newly constructed parallel bridge Construction of this cablestayed bridge began on December 22 2021Cost Rs 287 croreNumbers The bridge is 916 metres in length including approaches