India, Feb. 10 -- Straddling the railway tracks near Sandhurst Road, one arm of Hancock Bridge is open to traffic, the other incomplete and suspended mid-air with no landing ramp. Meant to replace a British-era bridge and function as a vital east-west connector between Mazgaon and Dongri, the new Hancock Bridge is a textbook case of systemic failures in planning and coordination, and lack of foresight and accountability by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

A decade since it was demolished, only half the bridge is complete - one of its two arms was opened in August 2022 - its estimated cost surging from Rs.41.31crore in 2016, when the contract was awarded, to Rs.100 crore in 2026.

Delays are due to design changes, contractor ...