MUMBAI: The Nehru Science Centre and Nehru Planetarium are not too far apart, but visitors driving from one to the other have to take an arduous route to Acharya Atre Marg, also called Worli Naka, and then proceed to the science institutes – all because there’s a nallah in between. Walking from one institute to the other takes 30 minutes. Now this is set to change.
The BMC is constructing a bridge along with a pedestrian underpass connecting the two science-centred institutes. Not limited to its utility between these two places, the bridge will also offer an alternative to motorists approaching from Lower Parel and Curry Road towards Worli and Mahalaxmi. They will be able to avoid the busy Worli Naka. The bridge will also open up a quicker route to the Coastal Road’s Lotus Jetty interchange at Haji Ali.
In May 2022, the BMC invited tenders for the bridge, which was necessitated due to the presence of the nallah. Work orders were issued in October 2022. Just 571 metres long, the bridge will cost ₹263 crore.
“The bridge will reduce the traffic burden on E Moses Road, where the Nehru Science Centre is located, and at Worli Naka,” said Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (roads and bridges). “It will be most useful for vehicles approaching from Lower Parel and Curry Road, going towards South Mumbai or the Coastal Road through the Lotus Junction and vice versa.”
This would mean that vehicles approaching from E Moses Road or Dainik Shivneri Marg would acquire a shortcut, proceeding towards Annie Besant Road or the Coastal Road, and vice versa. It is also hoped the bridge will increase footfalls to the science centre and planetarium.
With a timeline of 24 months excluding the monsoon months, the bridge should have been completed by May 2025. Its deadline has since been extended till October but this looks doubtful as the BMC’s annual budget listed progress done till February 2025 as only 14%.
Bangar explained, “Work on the Jijamata Nagar side of the Nehru Science Centre nallah is held up as a mosque shed is obstructing the deployment of machinery for piling work. The shed is to be removed by an SRA project developer (working on a project in the area), after which the work can resume.”
But residents are divided on whether the Worli Naka junction is in dire need of decongesting. While the junction is a major meeting point for roads branching out from Worli, Lower Parel, Elphinstone/Prabhadevi, Mahalaxmi and Curry Road, and it sees a lot of vehicular traffic during peak hours, traffic is streamlined.
“While there is traffic at the junction during peak hours, it is not so bad,” said Chikita Kukreja, a Worli resident. “There is a huge traffic signal that increases wait time, but it manages traffic efficiently. I am not sure how useful such a bridge will be.”
Next bridge: Two ROBs on Dr E Moses Road and Keshavrao Khadey Marg near Mahalaxmi Railway Station