A key connector between Nagpada and Tardeo, the bridge was demolished after a 2018 structural audit declared it unsafe. (Express Photos/Akash Patil)Bringing long-awaited relief to commuters in South Mumbai, the Belasis bridge, now renamed as the ‘Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar’ bridge was opened to the public on Thursday.Inaugurating the 130-year-old bridge via an online ceremony, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said over six new bridges, including the Sion and Vidyavihar road overbridges, are slated to open in the next two to three months.Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde were also present.A key connector between Nagpada and Tardeo, the bridge was demolished after a 2018 structural audit declared it unsafe.Work on the new structure began in October 2024. The Western Railway executed the span over the railway tracks, while the BMC handled girders, slabs, decks and approach roads on both sides. Officials said that the project was completed four months ahead of schedule.“The work of constructing a new bridge was taken up by the BMC and executed timely. The work was started in October 2024 and completed by January 2026. Work on this bridge was carried out within a timeframe of 15 months and the portion over railway section was also executed in time,” said Fadnavis during the opening.For over a century, the bridge carried the name of Major General John Bellasis, who commissioned the link connecting the Mahim Causeway to Malabar Hill in 1793.Story continues below this adSeeking to shed its colonial legacy, the civic body reopened the bridge, renaming it after queen Ahilyabai Holkar.Although construction was completed in January, the inauguration was delayed amid deliberations over renaming.The proposal to rename the bridge after Ahilyabai Holkar was moved by local MLA and state minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who had also suggested names such as Jagannath ‘Nana’ Shankarseth and Lata Mangeshkar.Also Read | CM Devendra Fadnavis opens new Carnac Bridge, rechristened Sindoor Bridge: ‘Must wipe pages of India’s black history’On the new name, Fadnavis said, “Punyashlok Ahilyamata has created an ideal of how an excellent administrator should be in this country. With her sensitivity, piety, efficient people-centric governance, grip over law and order, the temples she built and the first batch of women, the factories and small industries she built, and the ghats, Rajmata Ahilyadevi Holkar has set an example before us.”Story continues below this adThe century-old bridge had served as a crucial east–west link in South Mumbai. Its demolition had severely disrupted traffic flow in the Mumbai Central–Nagpada–Tardeo belt.With the reopening, vehicular movement between these stretches is expected to normalise. Officials said the new bridge also includes dedicated footpaths for pedestrians.During the launch, Shinde said, “The timely opening of the bridge will help in reducing traffic congestion on Jehangir Boman Behram road, Dadasaheb Bhadkamkar Marg (Grant Road), especially on Pathhe Bapurao Marg and Mahalaxmi Station Bridge.”Fadnavis added that six more bridges across the city are nearing completion and likely to be opened in the next two to three months, including the Sion ROB, Vidyavihar ROB, Mahalaxmi ROB, Nehru Planetarium flyover and Mankhurd flyover.