Mumbai Coastal Road to become toll-free for commuters ; first phase to be opened after Jan 31
Mumbai Coastal Road to become toll-free for commuters ; first phase to be opened after Jan 31
The Mumbai Coastal Road that connects Marine Drive with the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) will be free of toll collections, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday. The first phase of the project is scheduled to open after January 31.
The undersea tunnel’s construction between Worli and Marine Drive is expected to be finished by January 31. Following this, the tunnel is anticipated to be opened to traffic. By May 31, the last phase will be finished, and then the entire corridor will be operational, according to Shinde.
The project consists of a 10.58-kilometre high-speed corridor that connects Marine Drive and the Bandra Worli Sea Link via a network of traffic interchanges, subterranean tunnels and arterial roads. Additionally, this project will include the first underwater tunnel in India, connecting Priyadarshini Park to Girgaon Chowpatty.
Shinde visited the underwater tunnel and assessed the state of work on the coastal road project. Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner and other officials from the BMC accompanied them.
On January 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to officially open the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) Road. A resolution proposing a one-way toll of Rs 250 on the MTHL Road was recently approved by the state government.
Eknath Shinde stated that the next phase of the coastal road project will connect Bandra-Versova with Virar, so the infrastructure work in Mumbai is not intended to stop. This will considerably reduce travel time. Mumbai will be connected to Navi Mumbai and Raigad via MTHL. Conversely, this direct connectivity will also include satellite cities such as Virar.
The initial deadline for the Rs 12,271 crore coastal road project was November 2023, and construction got underway in 2018.
The deadline was postponed by six months, though, as the BMC had to alter the design of one of the bridges in response to opposition from the nearby fishing community.
