Mumbai’s Byculla is set for a major connectivity upgrade with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) working on a Rs 287-crore cable-stayed bridge aimed at easing one of the city’s long-standing traffic bottlenecks and reducing travel time between CSMT and Byculla to less than 10 minutes.
The new bridge is being constructed over the existing 104-year-old Y-bridge, which was built in 1922 and carries traffic over the railway lines of Sandhurst Road and Byculla stations. An IIT-Bombay-led structural audit in 2018 found the British-era bridge unsafe, prompting plans for a replacement structure.
Construction of the new cable-stayed bridge began in 2020, with the BMC undertaking the project in coordination with the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC), also known as MahaRail.
The bridge will begin near the Mahanagar Gas station on the CSMT side and feature two arms. One will terminate near Deccan Merchant Cooperative Bank in Byculla East, while the other will extend towards the Mumbai Fire Brigade headquarters in Byculla West.
892-Metre Flyover to Connect Mazgaon
Alongside the main bridge, the civic body is developing an 892-metre flyover that will connect with the cable-stayed bridge and provide a direct route for commuters travelling towards Mazgaon.
The integrated corridor is expected to significantly improve traffic movement between Fort, Byculla and Mazgaon. The CSMT-Byculla journey, which can currently take between 30 and 45 minutes depending on congestion, is expected to fall to under 10 minutes once the entire project is operational.
Key Project Details
The cable-stayed bridge will have a total length of 916 metres, stand around 9.70 metres high and feature a 50-metre pylon. The structure will provide four traffic lanes and is targeted for completion by December 2026.
A senior BMC official said, “Work on the Byculla cable-stayed bridge is progressing, with work underway on the approach roads of the structure. We are targeting to complete the work on the project by the end of this year, in December. After work on the cable-stayed bridge is complete, the traffic will be diverted to the new structure, and then work on connecting the existing Y bridge will be initiated. This will ensure that road traffic remains unhindered,” the official said.
Once completed, the bridge and connecting flyover are expected to create a smoother and faster road corridor between central and south Mumbai, while reducing pressure on the ageing Y-bridge and improving access to key parts of the city.
Source: The Indian Express
