Mumbai: Iconic Reay Road bridge set to be opened today

The Reay Road cable-stayed bridge, which is to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at 7 pm on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Pedestrians wishing to access the cable-stayed bridge at Reay Road can do so only from Sant Savta Mali Marg in Byculla East, as the new structure - unlike its century-old predecessor - is not connected to the Reay Road railway station. They must also be wary because, while the new bridge boats six lanes to accommodate vehicles, it lacks footpaths.

Ahmed Memon, Byculla resident

The bridge will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at 7 pm on Tuesday. From the same venue, the chief minister will also remotely inaugurate another road overbridge above railway lines about 65 km away at Titwala. Built by the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC or Maharail) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Reay Road bridge is the city's first cable-stayed road overbridge. It was rebuilt in record time after its predecessor was demolished in February 2022. While the new structure was completed in December 2024, the inauguration had to wait for nearly six months.

"The construction work of this cable-stayed bridge was started on Valentine's Day [February 14], 2022 and was completed in two years as part of a city-wide project to upgrade old bridges in the city. Century-old British-era bridges have been taken up for reconstruction by the Maharail, under agreement with the BMC and Railways, as their life span has almost come to an end," an official said.

The Reay Road cable-stayed bridge, which is to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at 7 pm on Tuesday. PICS/SHADAB KHAN

"The bridge structure allows traffic movement through the underpass of Barrister Nath Pai Marg, and also maintains the required vertical clearance for passing of vehicles under Eastern Freeway as per Indian Road Congress (IRC) standards. The new cable-stayed road overbridge will add more aesthetic appeal to the world-class heritage structure. Additionally, MRIDC has designed architectural LED lighting on the bridge, which will enhance the aesthetic appeal and also has been designed to improve the safety parameters with a bridge health monitoring system," he added. "All other approaches are functional, and the booking office has also been shifted. There will be no inconvenience to commuters," a senior railway official said.

Another misalignment

The Reay Road bridge, however, is no longer accessible to pedestrians and commuters via the station's 115-year-old heritage entry/exit, as the connector dangles about seven feet above the station's building. This situation calls to mind the infamous Barfiwala connector and the Gokhale bridge misalignment. The new Gokhale bridge was built by the BMC at an elevated height due to railway regulations, creating a gap between it and the Barfiwala flyover. After several months of work, including raising the Barfiwala flyover's spans and installing new bearings, the bridge was finally realigned with the Gokhale bridge.

Irate residents

A Byculla resident, Ahmed Memon, who first raised the issue, said, "It is a complete mess now. Commuters coming from Mazagaon, Byculla and Darukhana have to take a long detour. There is no access point from the bridge to Reay Road station, which people have had for decades." Zoru Bhathena, an activist, said, "It is surprising that a bridge is being inaugurated three months after it was completed. More surprisingly, there is no way for pedestrians to access the Reay Road station ticket counter from the new bridge. It appears that our authorities are only focused on cars and have forgotten about rail commuters and pedestrians."

The structure, which was built in two years, is not connected to the 115-year-old railway station

Vedant Mhatre, programme director of Walking Project, an advocacy group, said, "It is frustrating to see that a bridge in 2025 doesn't include a footpath. Many bridges across the city are undergoing redevelopment, and one after another, footpaths are either being narrowed to the extent that two people can't walk side by side comfortably or are being completely removed. This is the case at the Gokhale bridge and Delisle bridge. There are several other bridges under construction across the city, and we are extremely concerned that footpaths are being shortchanged to accommodate additional lanes - a deeply auto-centric approach in a city where less than 15 per cent of people own vehicles, and more than 60 per cent walk."

Vedant Mhatre, programme director, Walking Project

He added, "We have been in communication with people within the BMC about this issue over the last six months, but the justifications we've received for the removal of footpaths have been unsatisfactory. Often, British-era bridges have much wider footpaths than new ones. I urge readers to visit the British-era Mahalaxmi or Dadar Tilak flyovers to see the difference for themselves. Has the population gone down? Has pedestrian traffic reduced to an extent that justifies cutting back footpaths in this manner? Certainly not. Soon, we will be submitting a letter to the BMC requesting a review of this policy of reducing or removing footpaths from urban bridges. With many major bridges under reconstruction or newly built, it is essential that footpaths be included so that pedestrians have a comfortable and confusion-free right of passage along all urban roads, without being forced to find alternative bridges, which often don't exist. No other city is reducing pedestrian space simply to make more room for vehicles, especially when we already lack adequate parking for them. Mumbai cannot afford to keep pushing pedestrians to the margins."

Official Speak

Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar told mid-day on Monday night that the bridge and railway station would be integrated. "The heritage ticket booking office at Reay Road station will be restored above the new foot overbridge, just adjacent to the cable-stayed bridge. Drawings of this have been approved by Central Railway."