A year after Mumbai lost its 112-year-old Elphinstone bridge, its replacement is still several months away, with the railway portion now targeted for completion only by November and the bridge unlikely to open to traffic before January-February 2027. The next major hurdle is the launch of four steel spans across the railway tracks, a process that will require at least 39 railway blocks over 25 days.

The reconstruction, being executed as part of the double-decker Elphinstone bridge-Sewri-Worli connector project, was initially expected to progress faster. MahaRail, which is handling the railway portion, is now assembling the spans at the site and hopes to begin launching them by the end of September, subject to the rains.

The four spans, all of which arrived in Mumbai on August 15, comprise two 92.5-metre and two 34.5-metre structures. The longer spans will carry the two carriageways over the railway tracks at Prabhadevi and Parel, while the shorter ones will provide space for future railway lines.

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Of the 39 blocks, 32 will be required for launching and seven for preparatory work. Officials said these will largely be night-time corridor blocks, giving workers about 2.5 hours between the last and first trains.

“Even if for whatever reason, due to the rains or later trains due to the festival season, we get shorter railway blocks, we will continue the work so that there is some progress,” a MahaRail official said.

The launching plan has been submitted to Central and Western Railway and is awaiting approvals.

MahaRail has set November as the deadline for completing its portion. After that, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority will complete the approach roads and connect the railway and non-railway portions, work expected to continue until January-February.

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The reconstructed structure will have local traffic on the lower deck, while the upper deck will form part of the 4.5-km Sewri-Worli connector linking the Worli end of the Coastal Road with the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link.