To prevent the skeleton of the new Himalaya Foot-over-Bridge (FOB) from rusting, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be laying a steel beam over the surface.
The civic body has already finalised a design of the new bridge and in February 2020, the civic body had procured a NOC from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), since the proposed construction site falls at the heritage precinct adjoining the Anjuman-I-Islam University, the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Times of India building.
Senior officials of the BMC - bridges department has said that preliminary work for the reconstruction of the bridge has already started and if everything goes right, then the new bridge would be ready by end of 2021.
The officials said that the new bridge will be higher than the old one and the new bridge will be constructed by using steel plate girders.
"The contractor of the projected has suggested the installation of steel beams on the surface of the bridge, this would work as an added layer of protection and prevent the bridge from wearing out," said a senior official from the bridges department.
Furthermore the official said that the new bridge will be 30 feet long and nine metres wide and one of the main objectives of the engineers is to work on towards making the foundation strong.
"The estimated cost of the bridge would range between Rs 6.5 crore and Rs 7 crore. However, the installation of the beam could cost around an extra Rs 6 crore to the civic body," the official said.
"Due to the second wave we are facing a crunch of labours still we are working towards accomplishing the deadline," the official added.
The Himalaya had collapsed in March 2019, claiming six lives and injuring 30. Since the mishap, the bridge was shut and the civic body had ordered an audit of all the bridges in Mumbai. More than 25,000 commuters would use the bridge regularly to reach CSMT over DN Road, and now that the bridge is not there, they are using the subway, 200 metres away from collapse spot.
