Changing City: Work begins on Mahim Causeway bridge, key connector linking South Mumbai and suburbs

Indian Express

3 days ago

To ease congestion between Mahim and S V Road as well as the Western Express Highway, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has commenced work on the project to redevelop and widen the existing old bridge across Mithi River at Mahim Causeway into a 10-lane arch bridge.
A key connector linking the western suburbs and South Mumbai, the bridge passes over Mithi River and forms a part of the Mahim Causeway, whose history dates back as early as the 1840s. The bridge links S V Road in the H/West ward to Mahim in G/North ward and other parts of South Mumbai. However, with the decades-old structure becoming a severe bottleneck owing to increasing vehicular density, the BMC in 2017 charted plans to redevelop the existing bridge and widen it into a 10-lane bridge.
According to officials, the project will be executed in two phases. In the first phase, the BMC will construct two new bridges on either side of the existing structure. Following this, traffic will be rerouted on the lanes of the new bridges, paving the way for the next phase. In the second phase, the civic body will raze the existing structure to reconstruct the next part of the bridge.
The existing 44.1 m-long bridge has three lanes on each side and is 31.8 m in width. The new bridge will be widened to 52 m with five lanes on each carriageway and have an increased length of 104 m. While the existing structure comprises an RCC deck slab, the upcoming structure is proposed to be a double-arch bridge.
Currently, the civic body has commenced work on the fabrication of the metal girders of the bridge on the eastern side of the existing structure. Furthermore, work on three of the four abutments of the structure has already been executed.
The contract cost of the project is pegged at Rs 103.26 crore. Currently, the bridge work is in the preliminary stage, with the project estimated to be completed in two years.
While the work order of the project was awarded in 2018, the project faced delays owing to the procurement of forest cell permission, as the bridge is aligned along a protected mangrove area. The project received the Maharashtra Maritime Board's no-objection certificate as well as the final Stage 2 approval from the forest department in January 2024, after which the work gathered pace.
Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Projects, told The Indian Express, 'At present, the bridge work is still in its initial phase and we will be executing the project phase-wise. Once complete, the new bridge will aid in relieving traffic on A K Vaidya Marg, Mahim Causeway, Western Express Highway, S V Road, as well as Lady Jamshedji Road.'