With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) aiming to complete the vital east-west link over the Central Railway Line by August 15, the eagerly anticipated Vidyavihar flyover in Mumbai, which was scheduled to open for traffic in June, is probably only going to be operational by next month. Ramkrishna Chemburkar Marg (East) and Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg (West) will be connected by the Rs 178-crore infrastructure project over Vidyavihar railway station.
The Vidyavihar flyover, which was conceived about 35 years ago, will enable drivers to reduce their commute time to less than 10 minutes by avoiding the flyovers in Ghatkopar and Kurla, which would otherwise take at least 40 to 45 minutes.
The project was initially conceived and included in the 1991 revised development plans of the BMC. In 2016, the bridge’s tenders were finally released after more than 20 years of waiting.
Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in the east and Ramkrishna Chemburkar Marg in the west are immediately connected by the bridge’s open-web girder span across the Vidyavihar railway tracks.
The overpass also has a pedestrian walkway that provides direct access to the railway platforms in Vidyavihar.
The 612-meter-long, four-lane flyover will be constructed for Rs 178 crore, and each girder will weigh 1,100 metric tons. There will be walkways on both sides of the bridge.
At the moment, the route requires a lengthy detour and can take 40 to 45 minutes during rush hour. The east-west journey in Vidyavihar will only take ten to fifteen minutes after the bridge is built, a top BMC officer told The Indian Express.
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