Mumbai: Traffic woes in central Mumbai are set to intensify with the closure of the Elphinstone Road road overbridge (ROB), a vital link between Parel and Prabhadevi that straddles Central and Western Railway tracks.The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to dismantle and rebuild the bridge as part of the Sewri-Worli Connector project. This will be the fifth British-era bridge in the city to go under the hammer after the shutdown of the Sion ROB, Carnac bridge, Bellasis bridge, and Reay Road bridge.The closure will force motorists to rely on Tilak bridge at Dadar and Currey Road bridge, both of which are already choked during peak hours. With limited options left, travel times in the central districts are expected to rise sharply.The project, part of the much-delayed Sewri-Worli Connector, will handle at least 15% of traffic from the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and provide direct access to the upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport.Work on rebuilding the Elphinstone bridge was stalled for years because of 19 buildings falling on the alignment. The revised plan has reduced the number of affected structures to just two, clearing the decks for construction over the rail tracks.The reconstructed Elphinstone bridge will take the form of a double-decker flyover linking Senapati Bapat Road with Dr B R Ambedkar Road, while an additional arm will offer seamless connectivity to both the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and MTHL at Sewri. Rising 27 metre above the ground, it will soar over the Eastern Freeway, Ambedkar Road flyover, and railway lines. Though MMRDA initially considered an underground alignment to skirt railway approvals, the plan was scrapped in favour of an elevated structure.The 4.25km Sewri-Worli Connector, being built at a cost of Rs 1,276 crore by J Kumar Infraprojects, is already 60% complete. It is expected to slash travel time between MTHL’s Sewri entry and Worli from nearly an hour to barely 10 minutes.Built in 1913 with stone and iron shipped from Glasgow, Elphinstone bridge is among the few bridges in Mumbai that house a railway booking office—on the Western Railway side.
