Mumbai: Elphinstone Bridge, which connects Parel and Prabhadevi East and West, will shut from 11.59pm Friday, Sept 12, to make way for the new Elphinstone flyover and the 4.5km Worli–Sewri connector. With demolition finally set to begin, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has approved in situ rehabilitation for 83 residents of two affected buildings—Laxmi Niwas and Haji Noorani Chawl—ensuring they will be resettled in Mhada flats in the same locality.To manage traffic during the closure, diversions have been announced. Vehicles from Dadar East to Dadar West and Dadar Market will be diverted via Tilak Bridge. Motorists from Parel East towards Prabhadevi and Lower Parel can use Curry Road Bridge between 7am and 3pm, while those heading from Parel and Byculla East towards Worli, Coastal Road, and the Sea Link will be routed through Chinchpokli Bridge.Vehicles from Dadar West to Dadar East will have to use Tilak bridge. Traffic from Prabhadevi and Lower Parel towards Parel, KEM and Tata hospitals will be directed via Curry Road Bridge between 3pm and 11pm, while those coming from Coastal Road, Sea Link and Worli towards Parel and Byculla East can use Chinchpokli Bridge.On Mahadev Palav Road (Currey Road Railway Bridge), one-way restrictions will apply in alternate directions: East-west from 7am to 3pm, west-east from 3pm to 11pm, and both bounds open from 11pm to 7am. Other arterial roads—including Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marg, Senapati Bapat Road, Sane Guruji Marg, N M Joshi Road, Bhavani Shankar Road, and S K Bole Road—will remain two-way. To reduce inconvenience, MMRDA has deployed two ambulances—one at Parel station (East) and another at Prabhadevi station (West)—with wheelchairs for patients.MMRDA earlier proposed shifting the families to other areas, including Kurla, on a temporary basis. But residents resisted, preventing authorities from closing the bridge and demanding market-linked rent along with permanent rehabilitation nearby.Of the 83 project-affected persons (PAPs), 60 are from Laxmi Niwas and 23 from Haji Noorani Chawl. The DCM’s clearance ended the standoff and paved the way for demolition.According to the rehabilitation policy, homeowners with units smaller than 300 square feet will be allotted 405-sq-ft tenements, calculated as 300 sq ft plus 35% additional space. Those with units ranging between 300 sq ft and 1,292 sq ft will get their existing carpet area plus 35% extra. Officials said this formula ensures both equity and fairness in the allotment of new housing stock.Earlier, 19 buildings were to be affected by the connector. But MMRDA revised the alignment, sparing 17 and saving nearly Rs 5,200 crore in resettlement costs. Officials said the realignment, along with the PAP settlement, will accelerate construction and help complete the project on schedule. Once ready, the connector will link the Coastal Road with the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, cutting travel time between south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
