Another important part of Delisle Bridge will now be opened for traffic around the Ganpati festival. Earlier BMC had planned to open it by 15th July and again by 31st July. But BMC has failed to open the bridge on time. An official of the BMC Bridge Department said that our plan was to open the bridge in July. But due to heavy rains, the work got delayed for about 20 days. The material used for the bridge work could not reach in time. Due to heavy rains, the roads were submerged, so heavy vehicles could not reach the material to the spot. The official told that during this time there was a crisis of the laborers as well, hence the delay. The bridge is now expected to open for traffic by the end of August or the first week of September. About 95 percent of the bridge work has been completed.
The first part of the Delisle Bridge was opened on June 3, 2023, after a wait of about 5 years. However, the passengers are not getting much benefit from its opening. After the opening of the second part of the bridge, the people living on Curry Road, Chinchpokli, Lalbagh, Byculla, and NM Joshi Marg will be benefited. With the opening of the bridge, a large number of vehicles will be able to use this bridge via Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Road, Curry Road East, and Chinchpokli from Byculla. This bridge will prove to be of great help in traffic from Lower Parel to Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs along with Dadar.
The BMC official said that most of the work on the bridge has been done, but some more work, including the approach road, is pending. After that lighting, water net, furnishing and other works may take 15 days. He said that the biggest challenge in the reconstruction of this bridge was to erect two girders 90 meters long and weighing 1100 tonnes on the tracks of the Western Railway. Railways launched the first girder on June 22, 2022, and the second girder on September 24.
The reconstruction of Lower Parel Bridge is being done by Western Railway under the Railway Limit and Bridge Department of BMC. Two new open web girders have been installed in place of the earlier plate girders on the railway line. A footpath has been constructed on the outer side of the open web girder for the safety of the bridge as well as for the safety of pedestrians crossing the railway line. BMC will connect this footpath with four stairs and two escalators. BMC is constructing three roads totaling 600 meters long, including two on NM Joshi Marg and one on Ganpat Rao Kadam Marg.
Mumbaikars are not getting much benefit from the opening of the first part of Delisle Bridge. Hundreds of vehicles pass in a minute on any bridge or road in Mumbai, but only two to four vehicles are passing on this bridge in 10 minutes. Most of these are also two-wheelers. The bridge has been opened from Urmi Estate and Peninsula Corporate Park to the railway line on Ganpatrao Kadam Marg coming to Senapati Bapat Marg Junction in Lower Parel West.
the facts about Delisle Bridge –
– The Delisle Bridge was built in 1921
– In 2018, BMC-Railway and IIT Mumbai did a joint investigation of the bridge.
– On July 24, 2018, traffic on the bridge was closed.
– The bridge is of 6 lanes, and there is a footpath arrangement on both sides.
– The height of the bridge is 8 meters