Maharashtra approves projects worth Rs 52,200 crore: Details of every planned infrastructure project

Thane-Ghodbunder Freeway
The plan for Thane-Ghodbunder Freeway has been there for years now. However, a formal nod in the form of in-principle approval has been given only now. This arterial road, which actually is a highway, already has four flyovers. A metro rail is also being planned, but the elevated road or freeway is proposed on the hilly section of the Ghodbunder Road.

Currently, the four flyovers are at Kapurbawdi, Manpada, Patlipada and Waghbil, whereras the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation is planning a Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Ghodbunder Road Metro rail.

The plan is to build a freeway between Chena Creek and Ovala — spread around 5km. This is where there is forest land of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, as a result widening of the road was not possible.

Over five years ago, the widening of Ghodbunder Road was carried out from Ovala to Majiwada as part of first phase of the road widening project.

According to the authorities, the 'freeway' will help in decongesting the Ghodbunder Road on the 'Ghat Section' as smaller vehicles can use the elevated road and heavy vehicles would continue to ply on the existing road.

Ever since this arterial road has witnessed spurt in residential complexes in the last decade, there has been a tremendous increase in vehicular traffic particularly between Borivali-Thane via Ghodbunder Road. The approximate project cost is around Rs800 crore for a 2+2 lane freeway by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. The development body is yet to appoint a private agency for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 'Freeway'.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway Augmentation
Augmentation plan of Mumbai-Pune Expressway by constructing a combination of two new bridges and two new tunnels has got an impetus on Monday. There is also a plan of widening the Expressway and National Highway 4 (Old Mumbai-Pune Highway).

The augmentation will mean having 14 lanes from the present 10 lanes between Mumbai and Pune (including old Mumbai-Pune Highway). As per the proposal tabled on Monday, the estimated cost of the project is around Rs3,400 crore. The project would be implemented on Built-Operate-Transfer basis and expected to be ready in just over four year's time.

The overall travelling time would get short by at least 20 minutes as 'Ghat Section' or curvy roads can be given a miss.

As per the proposed plans, a cable stayed bridge of 810m would begin from Khalapur Toll Post followed by a tunnel of 1,620m, once again there would be a cable stayed bridge of 865m length and finally 7,765m long tunnel will culminate next to Sinhgad Institute.

Additionally, one lane on either direction of Expressway and NH4 would be added to take the total tally to 14 lanes.

Thane Creek Bridge at Vashi
Planned in 2008, Thane Creek Bridge at Vashi has witnessed many flip-flops to become a reality. The approval received on Monday may or may not be an impetus for the much needed bridge to better vehicular traffic movement.

Ever since its concept plan, the total construction cost has increased to over double. Earlier, it was around Rs300 crore and now it stands at an estimation of Rs800 crore.

There are no plans with the MSRDC to demolish or dismantle the old two lane road bridge, which is not in use as it is being utilised to lease out for film shooting or commercials.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has plans to have two bridges with three lanes each, that will be constructed on either side of the existing two-lane Thane Creek Bridge at Vashi. With no funding available the plan had met a roadblock.

In 2013, the MSRDC had even approached the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for funding but the request was rejected as there is plan to erect Mumbai Trans Harbour Link. Since then, no progress was made on the proposal, it is only now that a push has been given to the project. Whenever, the ground work commences, it will take a minimum of two years for completion.

Borivali-Thane Tunnel
With bids being floated to appoint private consultancy services to prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR) and conduct feasibility study for proposed Thane-Borivali tunnel project, this project of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) too received a nod on Monday.

This 11-km long project connecting two suburbs of Mumbai that is currently separated by forest (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) is said to ease commuting woes. The proposed tunnel will be constructed using Tunnel Boring Machines and have entry-exit points at Tikuji-ni-wadi in Thane and Ekta Nagar in Borivali.

As per the plans, there will be two tunnels of three lanes each running parallel to each other at a distance of 50m but connected with each other through intermediate tunnels for emergency situations. Three shafts would be made to introduce Tunnel Boring Machines for tunnel excavation, one of it may be within the national park jurisdiction.

The construction would take three years for this project which earlier this year had an estimated cost of Rs1,500 crore but on Monday it was revised to Rs3,000 crore. In the DPR, financial model to implement the project will also have a mention.

However, environmental nod would be crucial for the project as it crosses the national park or else the project will never turn into a reality.

The travel time will reduce from the present over an hour to below 20 minutes or reduction in commuting distance from the existing 23km to just 11km.

As per the traffic count undertaken by the MSRDC on Ghodbunder Road, there are around 65,000 Passenger Car Units that use the arterial road, which primarily is a highway.

Bhiwandi-Kalyan-Shil Phata Highway
Pegged at Rs2,600 crore, the Bhiwandi–Kalyan-Shil Phata Road is one of the major links connecting the Mumbai Pune Highway (NH 4) at Shil Phata and the Mumbai-Nashik Highway (NH 3) at Bhiwandi. The road also provides continuity to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway (NH 8) through the Thane-Ghodbunder Road (SH42).

The important urban centres located along the project road are Kalyan, Dombivali and Bhiwandi. Currently, the annual average daily traffic on the project road is more than 35,000 Passenger Car Units or PCUs.

The first phase is about strengthening the existing four-lane carriageway and widening the existing two-lane carriageway to a 4-lane divided carriageway of Bhiwandi Kalyan Shil Road.

Whereas, the second phase is for construction Kalyan Bypass (with a bridge on Ulhas River and Rail Over Bridge on the Central Railway line along with the approach roads) and flyover bridge of Bhiwandi Bypass Junction.

Mumbai Nagpur Super Communication Expressway
The recently announced Nagpur-Mumbai Communication Super Expressway project is planned to be implemented on Public-Private Partnership project wherein toll would be levied to use it. Feasibility study is being conducted for the same. The consultant will study the existing alignment of Nagpur-Khamgaon-Deolgaonraja-Aurangabad-Sinner-Ghoti-Thane route by using National Highways 6 and 3 as well as having a separate Expressway between Nagpur and Mumbai.

Along the corridor there are several minor and major bridges that are either old or weak or narrow and need to be reconstructed, even these requirements will be explored for the study report.

The estimated cost is Rs40,000 crore, however, the cost may get revised in the coming months. There will be a total of eight lanes with service roads and is said to cut down the travelling time between the two cities to just 10 hours.

Along the corridor there will be IT parks, smart cities, educational institutions and recreational hubs wherever possible apart from it being equipped with an optical fibre network, CCTVs and WiFi to ensure modern communication facilities and safety measures.

The work will be undertaken in two phases, and in the first phase, land acquisition will be completed and four-laning will be done.

Vakan-Pali-Khopoli Road Widening
Currently, this highway has just two lanes and there is a need to increase its capacity to meet the growing number of vehicular traffic.

There is a plan to widen this 140-km long highway from 2-lanes to 4-lanes by spending an estimated Rs500 crore.

After Monday's nod, feasibility report will be prepared and it is only at a later stage actual construction work would commence. A financial model for the same too is yet to be finalised by the state government as well as the MSRDC.

Passenger Water Transport for Mumbai's Eastern Coast
For years now the idea has been to have passenger water transport on the eastern coast of Mumbai by having services between Gateway of India-Mandwa and Ferry Wharf-Uran by early 2017. Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) together will implement the project for the eastern coast of Mumbai.

The citizens will benefit with the waterways connecting Mumbai with Mandwa and Uran. These would be RoPax (Roll On-Roll Off Passenger), RoRo (Roll On-Roll Off) ferries and catamarans so that commuters as well as vehicles can sail together. These vessels will have a capacity to accommodate 30-40 cars and around 250 passengers.

For the last 17 years, since the project was conceptualized for Mumbai, not even a single boat has been started. The terminals that would be made would have similar features and facilities like airports and the estimated cost is Rs300 crore.

27 Rail Over Bridges in Vidarbha Region
In order to improve connectivity by removing level crossings, a total of 27 Rail Over Bridges will be constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in the Vidarbha Region.

Having these bridges would also give an impetus to the development of the Vidharbha. However, it will be crucial to get finance to construct these bridges because in the past the MSRDC had to stop construction plans for "want of funds".

As per the approval received on Monday, around Rs800 crore would be spend to have 27 these elevated roads over rail lines.