Coastal road project will need amendment of Coastal Regulatory Zone norms

With chief minister Devendra Fadnavis confirming that a string of sea link projects on the western coast is not an option, the state government will instead opt for the Proposed Coastal Road or Coastal Freeway. However, this has its own set of obstacles, with reclaimed road, tunnels and bridges comprising the multi-crore project. Moreover, Coastal Regulatory Zone regulations will have to be amended for this project to move ahead.

There are three routes planned for the coastal road: Nariman Point to Eastern Freeway, Nariman Point to Kandivali and Gorai to Virar. At the moment, state authorities are working to implement the Nariman Point to Kandivali Coastal Road, a 35.6 km stretch.

The coastal freeway project requires reclamation of land at several locations of Mumbai. The route from south Mumbai begins at Manora MLA hostel on Jagannath Bhosale Road, only to get converted into a tunnel from NCPA to Priyadarshini Park at Napean Sea Road via Marine Drive-Princess Street-Malabar Hill.

Thereafter, reclaimed road will take motorists till the National Sports Club of India, followed by a 300-mt-long bridge across to Baroda Palace. Here onwards, reclaimed road will lead to Worli seaface, right up to the Bandra Worli Sea Link. "The coastal freeway scheme envisages adding four lanes to the Worli connector of the sea link, to provide an eight-lane freeway here. This would mean adding a bridge about 800 metres long to widen the existing four-lane connector," mentions the report on the Coastal Road project.

At Bandra Fort, there will be an interchange and a reclaimed road, each being 2.6-km long, leading to Chimbai village. At this old village, another 550 mt-long bridge will be erected, which will land on Carter Road's reclaimed road.

At Khar Danda, the road will be on stilts, followed by a tunnel between thr Juhu airport and Ritambhara College. A road from there will lead to Nana Nani Park at Seven Bungalows, only to climb on to an elevated road heading towards the Fisheries Institute at Versova. Thereafter, a road will go right up to Goregaon Sports Club via Oshiwara and Mindspace. From there on, a road on stilts will finally land at Link Road on Malad-Marve Road, ending the first portion of the coastal freeway.

There is also a plan to connect this freeway to Virar by widening roads at Madh Island as well as at Gorai and Uttan. "There is no need of contemplating reclamation here. This stretch could be provided with a road running along the coastline by widening existing roads. Bridges would need to be constructed at Manori and Vasai Creeks to provide seamless connectivity to Vasai and Virar areas," states the report.

A similar plan to connect Nariman Point with the eastern freeway is also mentioned in the same report.