Mumbai’s new cable-stayed Belasis bridge to open by year end

BMC fast-tracks construction of Mumbai’s new Belasis Bridge, set to open by December 2025.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made significant progress in the construction of the new Belasis Bridge, which aims to improve connectivity between congested Tardeo area in south Mumbai with Mumbai Central.

The reconstruction of the bridge, initially slated for completion by April 2026, has been fast-tracked, with the BMC now targeting an opening by December 31.

According to The Indian Express, this accelerated timeline comes after the Western Railway successfully installed 12 iron beams, each measuring 36 meters, within the railway portion of the bridge by August 10.

This marks a major breakthrough in the project, as the installation of girders is a crucial step in the construction process.

“The initial deadline of opening this bridge was set up for April, 2026, however as per the revised deadline we are aiming to open the bridge by December, 2025.

Now that we have completed the installation of iron beams, the work of erecting iron blocks and metal piers will be taken up by the authorities,” the BMC was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

A key east-west connector, the Belasis bridge connects traffic movement between Nagpada and Tardeo and is a railway overbridge (ROB) that passes above railway tracks, the report added.

The BMC decided to construct a new bridge by pulling down the old structure following a structural audit report in 2018. In the report, it was found that the bridge has lived its age.

The new bridge will be a cable-stayed structure, built with a steel superstructure and a concrete foundation. It will have a 6.5-meter clearance above the railway tracks, an improvement over the previous bridge.

The main carriageway will be 380 meters wide, accommodating six vehicle lanes, significantly increasing capacity compared to the former three.

According to The Indian Express, the old structure was demolished in June 2024, after which construction of the new bridge began.

Since the bridge will span over railway tracks, the BMC chose to build a cable-stayed bridge to minimise the piling work required.

“The work of assembling, and installation of the girder is underway and we are expecting to achieve it by the end of August.

Meanwhile the remaining piers of the bridge will be raised, following which the girder will be launched above the structure after which the construction of the main carriageway will be taken up.

After the carriageway is ready, the bridge will be opened by us for vehicular movement,” officials were quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

As per the report, the total cost for construction and demolition of the bridge stands at Rs 110 crore.

Civic authorities have allocated Rs 70 crore for this project, while the railway department is expected to contribute Rs 40 crore. Since the bridge crosses the railway tracks, the railways carried out the demolition work.