With the deadline for the completion of construction of the city’s first Metro corridor nearing, the challenges for the implementing agency are growing. The most immediate of these is the construction of the 183-metre bridge over the suburban railway lines at Andheri.

Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), the special purpose vehicle for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor formed by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Veolia Transport, is targeting a July 2010 deadline for operations to start on the 11.2-km corridor.

But there is an obstacle. Western Railway authorities say they will only allow construction for a three-hour period, when their services are shut. Work on this section is yet to start, with go-aheads from Western Railway and BMC awaited.

Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner forMMRDA, said even with the restriction, simultaneous construction along the alignment could help them complete the project on time. “The viaduct construction along the alignment also remains. But I don’t think it would overshoot the deadline if MMOPL manages the time period available, which they will,” Bhide said.

MMOPL officials were not available for comment. Asked if MMOPL has conveyed that the restricted working hours would affect the schedule, Bhide said, “It is always the case with any road over-bridge projects involving railways; they allow work only when there are no services. It is not impossible to get the bridge completed on time.”

Another hurdle is the Right of Way (ROW) that is yet to be handed over by the MMRDA. The ROW for nearly 2 km, in pockets, is pending. On some stretches, the MMRDA is widening the roads; on some, project-affected persons have appealed or the traffic police have not given permission. The MMOPL says it is waiting for the ROW from Navrang Cinema to Andheri SV Road and from Saki Naka to Asalpha to LBS Marg.