Demolition begins on British-era Elphinstone Bridge

MMRDA barricaded the Elphinstone Bridge at both ends and began demolishing the ramps or approach roads around 10 pm on Friday

Mumbai: Around 10 pm on Friday, amid heavy police presence, the 112-year-old Elphinstone Bridge, connecting Prabhadevi and Parel, was shut for demolition to make way for the under-construction Sewri-Worli Elevated Connector.

Mumbai, India. Sep 12, 2025: The Elphinstone Bridge in the Prabhadevi area of Mumbai was closed for two years. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will demolish the bridge and construct the new Elphinstone Bridge along with the Seree-Worli Connector. Mumbai, India. Apr 09, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

The British-era bridge, which crosses over active railway tracks on the Central and Western lines, will be replaced by a double-decker bridge part of the Sewri-Worli connector—a 4.5-km, signal-free, elevated road connecting the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the Atal Setu.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) barricaded the Elphinstone Bridge at both ends and began demolishing the ramps or approach roads around 10 pm on Friday, two hours before the initially declared closure time of midnight. This was seemingly done to avoid a repetition of what happened in April, when residents of buildings flanking the bridge blocked the planned demolition to protest the lack of a proper rehabilitation plan.

MMRDA officials, who remained unavailable for comment on Friday evening when the bridge was finally closed, had initially told HT that they plan to begin dismantling the bridge’s ramps from Saturday onwards. However, there is still uncertainty over when the demolition of the bridge section passing over the tracks will begin, as it involves coordination with multiple agencies.

The Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC), which will act as the nodal agency coordinating between MMRDA and the Railways, is yet to finalise the dates for demolishing the portion above the tracks. Once the MMRDA dismantles the approach roads, the MRIDC will seek railway blocks to begin demolishing the portion above the tracks. “Once we get the blocks, cranes will be deployed for demolition,” said an MRIDC official.

MRIDC will also coordinate with the Western and Central Railways to prepare the demolition schedule. A bone of contention is the payment of “way leave charges”—fees payable to the Railways for using their land and compensating for the money and time lost due to the rail blocks. “Paying way leave charges is just a small part of this process, and talks are underway. Once this is paid, blocks of carrying out the demolition will be finalised,” said an MRIDC official who is part of the project.

A few months ago, the MMRDA had prepared broad plans for the bridge’s dismantling. As per the schedule, the work is expected to take around 20 days and will be carried out in phases depending on the availability of railway blocks. Preparatory works have also begun at the site.

Once the bridge is demolished, multiple preparatory works will be undertaken before the construction of the new bridge begins. “Once the bridge is flattened, one of the first works to be initiated is soil testing, followed by shifting of utilities, such as sewer and water lines, as well as cables,” said an MMRDA official. “Multiple works will be carried out in parallel.”

Officials also said that the design of the new double-decker bridge is ready. Initially, MMRDA’s plan involved installing multiple pillars along Jagannath Bhatankar Road, where the current bridge stands. This would have required the demolition and rehabilitation of 368 families from 19 buildings on the bridge’s north side.

However, the plan was revised in 2024, reducing the number of pillars to just two—located near Prabhadevi Station (West). This significantly cut the required rehabilitation to 83 families from two buildings: Haji Noorani Chawl and Laxmi Niwas. In the next couple of months, these 83 families will be allocated Mhada homes within a four-kilometre radius from their buildings after they demanded rehabilitation either in situ or in the vicinity.

However, concerns remain over the 17 other decades-old buildings adjacent to the bridge. Residents fear these buildings’ structures might weaken during the bridge’s construction. “The urban development department has to decide on the appointment of MMRDA as the special planning authority to reconstruct these buildings under the cluster redevelopment scheme,” said a senior MMRDA official.

By excluding these 17 buildings from the redevelopment scope, MMRDA estimates it can save around ₹5,200 crore in rehabilitation costs. The Sewri-Worli Elevated Connector project’s overall budget was previously pegged at ₹1,286 crore.