Mumbai Infra News: Andheri's Barfiwala Flyover Set To Be Back In Operation After 7 Years; Do Not Expect Smooth Journey, Here Is Why
Mumbai: The C D Barfiwala flyover in Andheri is scheduled to reopen on May 15 after nearly seven years, but drivers may still encounter ongoing difficulties during their travels. At the western end of the flyover, traffic will face a bottleneck due to the continuing construction of the JVPD flyover, which has created a pit that requires eastbound drivers to shift onto a constricted, single-lane service road heading towards Juhu. This troublesome situation is anticipated to persist for three years, aligning with the projected completion timeline for the JVPD flyover.
In addition to previous complications, the Gokhale bridge was set to reopen last year following extensive reconstruction after a partial collapse in 2018 that resulted in two deaths. However, it could not be opened because of misalignment with the eastbound section of the Barfiwala flyover, as reported by Richa Pinto for The Times of India. Now that the Barfiwala flyover is ready for full operation, motorists will still need to make a challenging 90-degree left turn at its western end to proceed towards Juhu, due to construction affecting the road ahead.
The merging of traffic from below the flyover further complicates the situation. Dhaval Shah, director of the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association, underscored that if these traffic issues are not swiftly addressed, the long-awaited Phase 2 opening of the Gokhale bridge may be overshadowed by heightened chaos. Drivers might have to reroute through S V Road, undermining the initiative to enhance east-west connectivity effectively.
BMC officials remarked that the JVPD flyover was planned in advance, with designated space for vehicles exiting the Barfiwala flyover. The pedestrian portion of the Gokhale bridge collapsed on July 3, 2018, resulting in two deaths and three injuries. Subsequently, the bridge was closed to all traffic on November 7, 2022, due to serious structural problems, which led to the closure of the Barfiwala flyover that was directly associated with the bridge.
The first section of the Gokhale bridge reopened on February 26, 2024, but the Barfiwala flyover still remained closed because of a significant gap between the two structures. On April 14, 2024, the BMC's bridges department, in collaboration with experts from IIT-Bombay and VJTI, began alignment work. By July 4, 2024, partial alignment was accomplished, allowing the Juhu–Andheri (East) segment of the Barfiwala flyover to reopen for light vehicles.
Nonetheless, local resident Zoru Bhathena expressed concerns regarding the heavy traffic currently present beneath the bridge, indicating that reopening the Gokhale-Barfiwala link to the west could worsen congestion. Minoo Sukhia, another Andheri local, described the Barfiwala flyover as “jinxed” and expressed doubts about the new alignment resolving traffic issues, predicting instead that it would heighten congestion.
Construction on the 1.6-km JVPD flyover commenced in October 2024 and is expected to be finished within three years. A BMC official highlighted that this JVPD bridge would enable smoother travel from the Western Express Highway (WEH) to JVPD, connecting to the expected coastal road-north.
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