The work to build the 1.3-km skywalk connecting Bandra (east) station to Kalanagar and Bandra Kurla Complex started at Kalanagar, opposite the PWD office.
Work on Mumbai’s first pedestrian skywalk began on Friday noon.
“Surely by summer next year it will be a safe walk to the station. We can avoid the sun, crossings and traffic jams,” said Vinay Katdare, 25, from Kalanagar.
But for 68-year-old Anna Karmarkar, getting up the skywalk would be an arduous task. There should be lifts to help the elderly, he said. Karmarkar’s friend Dinanath Patel was worried over the safety of pedestrians during night. “They should think about the security aspect too,” he said.
The work to build the 1.3-km skywalk connecting Bandra (east) station to Kalanagar and Bandra Kurla Complex started at Kalanagar, opposite the PWD office.
MMRDA Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said, “We hope to start the skywalk for pedestrians within a record three months.” An auto deck for auto rickshaws and a lift for the handicapped will also be built.
The skywalk will have two staircases —- one at BKC and another near the MHADA office in Kalanagar.
The skywalk will run along Anant Kanekar Marg instead of the earlier planned Pipeline Road along the Mithi and then approach Western Express Highway via ONGC. The four-metre wide skywalk will be six metre above the ground. And the total cost has been pegged at Rs13.63 crore.
“Although the skywalk will not be completely covered, it will have a roof for security reasons,” said an expert working on the project. The project is part of the MMRDA’s Rs600-crore project to build skywalks (foot over-bridges) at select 20 stations. The entire project is expected to be completed in the next three years.
The second skywalk is likely to be between Bandra station (west) and Turner Road junction via Hill Road. This is expected to be completed by 2008. A source in the MMRDA said Malad, Ghatkopar, Bandra, Chembur, Dadar, Andheri, Matunga and Mahim were among the stations chosen for building skywalks.
Aniket Agarwal, a resident of Khar, said the skywalk would benefit everyone because the roads leading to the station were always packed with buses, auto rickshaws and other vehicles leaving little space for pedestrians. “It will help decongest the roads too,” he said. Agarwal owns a shop on Anant Kanekar Marg.
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