Mumbai gets 2 bridges and a promenade
'These projects are set to significantly enhance Mumbai's urban mobility, strengthen infrastructure resilience and boost workforce capabilities,' said Sanjay Mukherjee, metropolitan commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
The most significant project for motorists is the cable-stayed bridge passing over the Western Express Highway (WEH), which is the third in a series of extensions to the SCLR, whose construction commenced in 2016. The new bridge will allow motorists coming from the eastern suburbs and the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) via the SCLR to bypass the congested Kalina junction and land directly on the WEH after the Vakola Flyover.
'The completion of the final phase of the Santacruz–Chembur Link Road, with South Asia's first sharp-curve cable-stayed bridge, is a proud achievement that will ease travel between the Eastern and Western Express Highways,' said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, during Thursday's online inauguration ceremony at BKC. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde added that people will now be able to travel between Chembur and Dahisar without a traffic signal.
However, despite the new bridge, which was built at a cost of around ₹1,000 crore and faced years of delays, constraints regarding the slow movement of vehicular traffic on the WEH remain, as was the case on Thursday evening. Fadnavis said during the inauguration ceremony that this would be solved once the second phase of the coastal road is opened in a few years.
'Since the Western Express Highway carries the load of 60% of vehicles from the western suburbs, we are constructing a sea link and northern coastal road right up to Bhayandar. This will be a parallel highway that will alleviate traffic woes,' he said.
Another project inaugurated on Thursday was a 340-metre arm of the Kalanagar Flyover, built at a cost of ₹20 crore. Vehicles coming from Dharavi's T Junction can now head towards south Mumbai and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link by avoiding the Kalanagar junction.
During the inauguration ceremony, Fadnavis shared that his previous government had taken a decision in 2015-16 to increase the number of entry-exit points to BKC. With the SCLR bridge and the Kalanagar Flyover's partial opening, five of the six entry-exit points are now ready. The only remaining entry-exit point is also part of SCLR, linking the Asian Heart Hospital Road in the central business district with the Vakola flyover, outside the Indian Air Force establishment in Santacruz. This link is expected to be ready only in December.
Starting Saturday, the first phase of the Mumbai Coastal Road in south Mumbai, inaugurated last year, will also be open 24/7 for motorists rather than the current timings of 7 am to midnight. The state government also inaugurated 5.25 km of the 7.5-km-long promenade along the coastal road, part of which replaces the earlier Worli Sea Face promenade.
The promenade stretches set to open are between Priyadarshini Park and Haji Ali, and then from Baroda Palace to Worli. Four pedestrian underpasses—located at Bindumadhav Thackeray Chowk in Worli, the Worli Dairy School at Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Marg, the Haji Ali junction and through the Akriti parking lot at Bhulabhai Desai Marg—were also opened.
'Both these projects are essential in their own way, and Mumbaikars have been eagerly waiting for them,' said transport expert Vivek Pai. 'The SCLR extension will save commuters time by directly connecting the SCLR to WEH signal-free. On the other hand, the coastal road promenade will increase the green lungs of the city and finally provide pedestrian connection to the sea once again.'
Fadnavis also cautioned motorists not to display their 'driving skills' and endanger their own lives and those of others on the coastal road. 'There are surveillance cameras installed on the entire stretch of the coastal road. You will get caught, and a ticket will get delivered to your doorstep. Please maintain traffic discipline,' he said.
Meanwhile, MMRDA and the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) also opened a 100-metre foot over bridge at Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
MMRC posted on X: 'There will be no more rushing through traffic before your flight. Now, from CSMIA–T2 Metro Station to Airport Terminal-2 in just a few steps. The newly built bridge connects Lift Entry/Exit A1 at ground level straight to the terminal.'
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