Mumbai gets two critical road links

Mumbaikars were Monday finally rewarded with two critical north-south road infrastructure projects - the Panjrapole-Ghatkopar Link Road on the Eastern Freeway Project and the south-bound arm of the Kherwadi Junction flyover.

Inaugurating the two projects, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan assured the city that the north-bound arm of the Kherwadi Junction flyover in Bandra on the Western Express Highway would be completed in 7-8 months.

"Both these projects will certainly change the way in which Mumbaikars travel," Chavan said.

The 580-metre Kherwadi Junction flyover will provide signal-free connectivity from Dahisar to Worli via the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea Link, enabling motorists to cover the distance in about 40 minutes, compared to the present around 90-120 minutes.

The 16.4-km Panjrapole-Ghatkopar Link Road (PGLR) will help motorists utilise the entire Eastern Freeway Project (EFP) and avoid traffic snarls at Dadar, Sion, Chembur, Kurla and Mankhurd on the eastern suburban side.

U.P.S. Madan, metropolitan commissioner at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) which implemented both projects, said the fully completed EFP alone is expected to be used by 65,000 vehicles daily.

The 16.6-km EFP (which includes PGLR) standing at a lofty 22 metres in the northern side at Panjrapole in Chembur, is also the tallest bridge in Mumbai and will slash the travel time to barely 25 minutes, compared to over 90 minutes until now.

The Rs.1,463 crore EFP also encompasses two tunnels - the first in any urban setting in India - on its route.

Chavan said that in the past five years, the MMRDA has delivered mega projects worth over Rs.15,000 crore and is at present undertaking several others worth around Rs.10,000 crore.

"The MMRDA will also be undertaking projects worth Rs.36,000 crore, including the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Mumbai Metro Line 3, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Surya Water Project and Worli-Sewri corridor over the next few years," he said.

On the proposed Chankop-Bandra-Mankhurd Mumbai Metro Line 2, Chavan said he discussed the issue of environmental clearance with union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar during his visit to Mumbai last week.

Some of the mega projects implemented by MMRDA in the past couple of years include the Monorail, Mumbai Metro Line 1 between Versova-Ghatkopar, Sahar Elevated Access Road, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, over 16 flyovers in and around the city.