Andheri West: BMC sets December 2027 target for Kavathe Creek bridge

A 206-metre bridge across Kavathe Creek could give Andheri West commuters a direct route between Yari Road and Lokhandwala by December 2027.

The BMC has set that target for its ₹42-crore Lokhandwala-Yari Road bridge. The project is intended to complete a planned 18.30-metre-wide road on either side of the creek. The civic body estimates that the link could reduce travel time between the two areas from about 30 minutes to nearly 10 minutes.

The bridge will connect Yari Road, Panchmarg and Versova with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Nagar, Lokhandwala Complex and Samarth Nagar. Its design includes a 110-metre single-span steel basket-handle arch and approach roads on both sides. The bridge is planned to be 11 metres wide.

First proposed in 2002, the project moved forward after a 2014 tender but later stalled during a legal challenge by local groups concerned about the surrounding mangrove forest. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition in 2023. The BMC floated a fresh tender in November that year, but environmental clearances caused further delays.

The BMC expects the bridge to provide an alternative route when the Versova-Bandra Sea Link and Mumbai Coastal Road (North) become operational.