Rlys to raze Andheri bridge, one lane may be kept open

Four days after the Gokhale Bridge was shut leading to huge traffic chaos in Andheri, it was decided on Friday that railways, and not BMC, will demolish the vital east-west bridge and aim to complete the task by midMarch.

- Richa Pinto

Mumbai: BMC will invite tenders for the reconstruction on Saturday, and work on precast material will start simultaneously with the demolition. It was also suggested that if possible, one lane of the bridge should be kept open for two-wheelers and autorickshaws till demolition begins.

The nearly week-long logjam between BMC and railways over who should raze the bridge was broken Friday evening after a meeting at Mantralaya chaired by Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Mumbai suburban guardian minister, and attended by Ameet Satam, MLA from Andheri, and municipal and traffic officials. Satam said BMC expects to start assembling the pre-cast material in March. BMC hopes to reopen two lanes in May after reconstruction.