Elphinstone foot overbridge has been built by the Army at a cost of Rs 10.44 crore (approx).
Mumbai gets three foot overbridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivali today. The three bridges, built by Army's Bombay Sappers and "dedicated to Mumbaikars", were inaugurated by commoners in presence Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Rail Minister Piyush Goyal and State Defence Minister Subhash Bhamre. The foot overbridge at Elphinstone has been built by the Indian Army in a record time of 117 days, the Western Railways said. The Army began the construction of the Elphinstone foot overbridge nearly two months after a tragic stampede at Elphinstone station on September 29 last year that took away lives of 23 people and injured over 30. Thanking the Indian Army, the Western Railways tweeted, "73.1 m long & 3.65 m wide Elphinstone Road station FOB connecting Parel station, wch is built by @adgpi in record 117 days will be opened today. A big thanks to braveheart Indian Army!"
Here are 10 facts about the three new foot overbridges in Mumbai:
1. The Elphinstone foot overbridge has been built by the Indian Army at a cost of approximately Rs 10.44 crore.
2. It is 73.1 m long and 3.65 m wide and can carry eight tonnes of weight.
3. The Elphinstone foot overbridge will connect Parel station on the East side and Phool Wali Gali outside the Elphinstone Road station on the West side.
4. The daily footfall at Elphinstone Road and Parel station foot overbridges is nearly 3.5 lakh.
5. The new foot overbridge aims to maintain a smooth flow and de-congestion during the peak hours at both Elphinstone Road and Parel stations.
6. The new Elphinstone foot overbridge will also be of great help to the flower and fish vendors of nearby market during the peak hours, a tweet from Western Railways said.
7. Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will also be posted on the new Elphinstone foot overbridge to manage the crowd, say reports.
8. Nearly 1.6 lakh commuters will be highly benefited from the army foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road as it connects the two stations of Western Railways and Central Railways, a tweet from Western Railways said.
9. Apart from Elphinstone foot overbridge at the Western Railways, two other foot overbridges at the Central line - Ambivali near Kalyan and at Currey Road - built by the Army, were also thrown open to public today. Interestingly, the Western and Central railways have picked common folks - a flower vendor, the dabbawallahs and women passengers, to inaugurate the three foot overbridges.
10. The bridges have been built to help in hassle-free platform interchange. Additional entry and exit gates have also been built.