Foot-overbridges built by army in record time, now open for public

Mumbai: The foot overbridge constructed by the Indian army in record time, was opened for public today. The army engineers and soldiers completed the work of the bridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivali stations in just 117 days. The bridges were opened to the public by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday.

The stampede on the Elphinstone Road Bridge in September had claimed 23 lives and 30 were injured. This bridge connecting two stations on the Central and Western railways was very narrow. The bridge was crowded as trains arrived simultaneously on both the stations. Moreover, as it suddenly started raining, commuters did not exit the bridge and stopped at its end, increasing the pressure on the bridge leading to a stampede. After this incident, the decision to immediately build a new foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station was taken. The Indian army was given the responsibility of expeditiously constructing the bridge. The army was asked to build foot overbridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivali stations.

The army set a deadline to complete the work by end of January. But, due to some difficulties the work got delayed. Nevertheless, the army completed the bridge construction work in record time.

The foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station was completed by the army in only 104.4 million Rupees. The bridge is 73.1 meters long and 3.65 meters wide. The bridge is capable of handling a load of 8 tons. The newly constructed bridge connects Elphinstone Road station on the western line and Parel Station on the central line. This connects to the flower market in the west. Every day around 350 thousand commuters are expected to benefit by this bridge. This bridge will also help the flowers and fish vendors, it is said.

The bridge construction was started two months after the September mishap. This bridge along with the bridges at Curry Road and Ambivali stations, were made open for public on Tuesday. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, were also present at the venue.