Mumbai opens Sion, Vidyavihar bridges and Goregaon-Mulund Link Road flyover

A flyover on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), the rebuilt Sion railway overbridge and a new railway overbridge at Vidyavihar were opened in Mumbai on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the three Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) projects virtually, joined by Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar and Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, according to reports. The new Sion bridge replaces a 112-year-old structure that had been declared unsafe, and was finished four months ahead of its February 2027 deadline.

Mumbai is split by its suburban railway lines, which run north to south through the city. Every point where traffic must cross the tracks becomes a bottleneck, and many crossings depend on ageing bridges built more than a century ago. The old Sion bridge, near one of the city's busiest junctions linking the island city to the eastern suburbs and the highway towards Navi Mumbai, was a prime example. Its closure for rebuilding forced diversions on the surrounding roads. Doubling it to four lanes should ease one of the city's most crowded routes.

The design of the new Sion bridge also matters for train travellers. By leaving space without pillars below, it allows Central Railway to lay the fifth and sixth lines between Kurla and the city as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, which aims to separate long-distance trains from local services and run more locals.

The Vidyavihar bridge addresses a different problem. Between Ghatkopar and Kurla, people and vehicles crossing from the eastern side to LBS Marg on the west have had to rely on a few congested crossings, including the Ghatkopar station flyover. A dedicated bridge at Vidyavihar is expected to cut that crossing to about 10 minutes and take pressure off Ghatkopar.

The GMLR flyover is one piece of a larger project. The Goregaon-Mulund Link Road is planned as an east-west corridor connecting the western and eastern suburbs, including a tunnel under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Today, people travelling between Goregaon and Mulund must go around the park on crowded roads. The flyover near the Hotel Ratnagiri junction in Goregaon East is one completed section of that corridor.

Short-term: Commuters around Sion, Vidyavihar and Goregaon East should see shorter waits at crossings and junctions. Traffic patterns may take a few weeks to settle as drivers shift to the new routes.

Long-term: The projects add capacity to Mumbai's road network at three known choke points and, at Sion, enable railway expansion. The full benefit of the Goregaon-Mulund corridor depends on completing the remaining sections, including the tunnel.

Who is affected: Daily commuters in the eastern and western suburbs, bus and taxi operators, residents and businesses near the three sites, and suburban train passengers who will benefit from the extra railway lines once built.

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