Central Mumbai is bracing for significant traffic congestion with the closure of the Elphinstone Road Overbridge (ROB), a vital connection between Parel and Prabhadevi, for the next two years. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will dismantle and rebuild the bridge as part of the Sewri-Worli Connector project.
Once completed, the new Elphinstone bridge will be a double-decker flyover linking Senapati Bapat Road to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Road, with an additional arm connecting to the Sewri end of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Earlier plans for an underground passage under the Parel-Prabhadevi railway tracks were abandoned due to approval delays.
This closure marks the fifth British-era bridge in Mumbai to shut, following the Sion ROB, Carnac Bridge, Bellasis Bridge, and Reay Road Bridge. The closures of these bridges have already caused severe traffic jams, and the additional pressure on alternative routes such as Tilak Bridge (Dadar) and Currey Road Bridge, which are already handling heavy traffic, will likely worsen peak-hour congestion and increase commute times.