Mumbai’s ambitious Coastal Road may now be partially open in November. BMC may begin operating this road in stages beginning November 2023. The project’s objective is to reduce traffic congestion and improve connectivity along the western coast of Mumbai.
Mumbai Coastal Road Will See A Partial Opening
Detailed graphical status report of #MumbaiCoastalRoad project of @mybmc
Overall progress: 70%
Package 1: 68%
Package 2: 62%
Package 4: 79%
(There is no package 3)
Great team efforts by #TeamBMC, GC #Aecom PMCs #Egis, #LBG #Yoshin
DBCs: #HCC, #L&T
Gerard up fr timely completn pic.twitter.com/IprtR3zJlF— Ashwini Bhide (@AshwiniBhide) February 10, 2023
According to The Indian Express, civic leaders are currently looking at two ways for only partially opening this bridge. The second option is from Marine Drive to JK Kapoor Chowk at the Worli junction, whereas the first one is between Marine Drive and Haji Ali Promenade.
The entire coastal road will have three interchanges, one at Amarsons Garden in Breach Candy, one at Haji Ali and the final interchange at Worli. Sources said that the final interchange would become operational only after the final bridge becomes ready.
The civic officials also said that by November only one of the underground tunnels will be opened for traffic movement since the second tunnel will not be entirely operational till then. On May 30, BMC achieved its final breakthrough of the second tunnel.
Built at a cost of ₹12, 213 crores, the BMC is constructing the 10.58 km-long coastal road project to connect Marine Drive in south Mumbai with the Bandra-Worli Sea Link through a series of arterial roads, underground tunnels and traffic interchanges.
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The Rest Of The Mumbai Coastal Road Will Be Opening Later
Though much of the work on the bridge is nearly finished, the connection between the coastal road and the Bandra-Worli sea link is still in its initial stages and will not be operational in November.
Initially, the bridge was supposed to reopen by November 2023. However, civic officials have said that the delay is being caused owing to a design change that is being implemented in the vehicular interchange at Worli. The project is set to take another 6 months for the design change. The BMC will also incur an additional ₹650 crore as a result of the delay.
The design delay occurred after members of the fishing community resisted the gap of a navigational span of a bridge that will connect the main road with the Bandra–Worli Sea Link.
Moreover, civic officials also added that the sea wall that was being built as an outer perimeter of this project proved to be effective during the time when Cyclone Biparjoy passed over Mumbai. They also said that this wall has sustained two monsoons and it will prove to become an additional layer of protection for Mumbai during natural calamities.
Cover image credits: canva