The long-awaited demolition of the crumbling colonial-era Sion road overbridge (ROB) is finally scheduled to commence, with the plan having faced multiple delays. On Monday, Mumbai traffic police announced that the demolition will begin on August 1 and the key east-west connector will be closed until 2026 for reconstruction. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay had declared the bridge unsafe for traffic in 2020 following a structural audit, but the demolition was postponed three times due to board exams, Lok Sabha elections, and concerns of local residents.
Traffic will be redirected once demolition starts, with vehicles traveling from Dr. BA Road to LBS Marg or Saint Rohidas Road being diverted away from the Sion ROB. Several roads, including Sion-Mahim Link Road, KK Krishnan Marg, and Sulochana Shetty Road near Sion Hospital Junction, will be designated as no-parking zones.A Central Railway official confirmed that the railway is prepared for the demolition, with the tendering process for dismantling and rebuilding the Sion ROB already complete.
The demolition is expected to take three months, with reconstruction planned to last at least two years, at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore. This project is crucial for adding two additional railway lines between CSMT and Kurla on the Central Railway network, which will help separate express and suburban trains and reduce delays, particularly for local services.