In a bid to expedite the process of merging the levels of the newly opened Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge with Barfiwala Flyover, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to write to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking permission to carry out the construction works during the code of conduct period. Civic officials said that merging the two arms of the flyover with Gokhale Bridge would cost the BMC Rs 8 crore and the process of drafting the tender document is on. “We are planning to float a short tender for this work. For this, the ECI's permission would be needed before we start inviting the bids. The second arm of the Gokhale Bridge is set to be opened by December 2024 and we are hoping to merge the two bridges before the entire bridge becomes operational,” said an official. Earlier, in a technical report submitted to the civic authorities on March 19, the Veermata Jeejabai Technological Institute (VJTI) had stated that the arms of the flyovers are in a good condition and they could be merged with the Gokhale Bridge without demolishing them. In its report, the VJTI also stated that the whole process of aligning the two bridges would take around 90 days. The VJTI stated that the last four spans of the Barfiwala Flyover could be suitably lifted and pedestals could be raised and re-cast to match the profile of the two bridges. Meanwhile, civic officials maintained that they have also written to IIT-Bombay seeking a second opinion on this regard. The officials maintained the tenders would be floated only after the IIT-B report comes. The Barfiwala Flyover was constructed in 2008 and would originate from Juhu and connect with the north-south arms of the old Gokhale Bridge, which has been in existence since 1960. The latter was demolished in 2022 and a new bridge was constructed in its place, which was opened for vehicular movement on February 26 this year. However, due to the guidelines of railways, since this bridge passes above the railway tracks, the BMC constructed the new Gokhale Bridge at an elevated height of six meters, resulting in misalignment of its arms with the Barfiwala Flyover.
