The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) achieved a successful trial launch of the first Open Web Girder (OWG) for the Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge in Mumbai’s Andheri on Friday. P. Velrasu, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), confirmed the successful trial run, emphasizing that the girder was launched over the erected launching pad above the railway tracks.
Following the successful trial, the entire girder, spanning 90 meters, is scheduled for launch during the night of December 2 and 3. The trial launch, conducted between 12 am and 4 am on Friday, ensures the proper assembly and functionality of the steel girder before constructing the main carriageway of the bridge, facilitating vehicular and pedestrian movement.During the trial run, the BMC slid the entire 90-meter OWG by four meters over the erected pillars. The remaining 86 meters are set for launch during the final phase. The BMC has formally requested a traffic block from the western railways for the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Upon the complete launch of the first girder, the construction of carriageways will commence, with the BMC aiming to complete this phase within the next two months. The deadline for opening one arm of the bridge is February 2024, while the entire bridge is slated to become operational by May next year. Gokhale Bridge, a vital east-west connector in Andheri, Mumbai’s western suburbs, was closed in November last year due to concerns about its weak structural stability. After the demolition of the old structure in December, the railways issued a work order for the new bridge in January this year.