On August 1, 2024, the Sion overbridge was closed for a two-year reconstruction project, disrupting traffic and daily commutes. The plan is to rebuild the century-old bridge — originally constructed across the railway tracks in 1912 — through a collaboration between the Central Railway and the BMC.
However, to the dismay of citizens, the bridge has yet to be demolished. What are the reasons for this delay?
Inconvenience to commuters
The bridge connecting Sion East to Sion West serves as a vital link between Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg, Dharavi, the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), and the Eastern Express Highway. As both LBS Marg and the Eastern Express Highway are major arterial roads, the bridge’s closure has impacted not only traffic within the city but also inter-city vehicles.
Citizen Matters spoke to a taxi driver who said that the closure has led to congestion near Kurla Depot and 90 Feet Road. Previously, buses heading to Pune—especially those from the western suburbs—used the bridge. Rajendra Kulkarni, a frequent traveler to Pune, explained: “Buses now have to take a right at the T-junction, exit near Sion Hospital, and continue via Dr. Ambedkar Road. This detour adds to travel time and causes traffic jams in Dharavi, affecting southbound traffic through the area.”
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There are several reasons for the proposed reconstruction of the bridge. Firstly, the Central Railway is laying tracks for its fifth and sixth lines to separate the suburban and long-distance trains. More importantly, a structural audit of the bridge conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay found that certain girders, a reinforced concrete deck slab and a wall are in poor condition. Since the bridge was dilapidated, keeping it open for commuters would be dangerous, especially since it is over the railway tracks. The report recommended that the British-era bridge be razed and rebuilt. While there is no doubt that the bridge’s demolition is necessary, what raises questions is the fact that the bridge has not been taken down yet, despite being closed since August 2024.
Delay in starting work
The authorities postponed the demolition, initially scheduled for January of last year, to avoid causing problems for students appearing for their board exams. When it was finally shut in August, the project saw further delays.
According to Central Railway officials, there are three stages to the project:
- Demolition of the existing structure,
- Placement of girders for the construction
- Connecting the girders and the final bridge construction in the form of approach roads
“The current issue is that while work has begun, it has not yet progressed with the full deployment of machinery,” explained Swapnil Nila, the CPRO of Central Railway.
He identified two major obstacles. The first is a BMC toilet located on the western side of the bridge, and to complicate matters, someone has taken up residence above the toilet. The second issue involves electric transmission cables belonging to BEST. According to the CPRO, BEST has conducted a survey and is expected to remove the cables within a week or two.
A BMC official we spoke to confirmed that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) has been issued for the toilet demolition, and the process is already underway. The projection is set for completion in 2026.
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Multi-agency coordination
A project of this scale and nature involves multiple agencies. In this case, the bridge is to be demolished and built by the railways, while the BMC has to take care of the approach roads. But the toilet block which has delayed the project belongs to the BMC. A BMC official said that the Central Railway would be able to answer questions about the delay, and the railways, in turn, has pointed fingers at the BMC.
Hussain Indorewala, an urban researcher, says that before an infrastructure project is undertaken certain steps are necessary — a survey of the area, a look at the existing claims, study of the effect on the existing stakeholders, and the settling of claims. He stresses that ‘survey before planning’ is an essential principle.
A thorough survey for the demolition and reconstruction of the Sion overbridge would have revealed all these factors and enabled proper preparation before the announcement for the closure of the bridge. Instead, the bridge has been closed for vehicular traffic for several months now, and the first step of demolition has not yet taken place, more than six months after the bridge was closed.
Residents inconvenienced
Suchita Krishnaprasad, who lives in Sion, voices the woes of people in the area when she says, “The travel time is affected not just at Sion station; all the other bypasses of Sion which could have gone through Sion station, are all heavily clogged.” She adds that since the authorities have not created adequate arterial roads to take the load off Sion bridge, residents of the area as well as commuters are suffering.”
While there is no doubt that this project is necessary, some foresight on the part of the agencies involved would have alleviated the problems that residents and commuters are facing, instead of aggravating them.
Also read:
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- Banking on contract buses, BEST to scrap three-quarters of its own fleet in a year