While the 29th meeting of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) cleared road projects worth Rs1,100 crore on Thursday, the proposal to construct the city’s first vehicular underpass near Kalanagar junction in Bandra was sent back for further study.
The authority has decided to construct as many as five flyovers — two in Kalyan at Rajnoli junction and Mankoli junction, one in Bhiwandi at Vanjarpatti and two in Thane at Mumbra junction and Shil Phata.
The project will also undertake the quadrupling of Arnala-Virar-Kaner-Shirsad-Ambadi state road and Padgha-Vishind road, Kalyan-Badlapur-Karjat-Hal Phata state road and Karjat to Chowk state road. The state roads from Katai Naka to Badlapur and NH8 to Nalasopara-Nirmal will also be developed and widened under the project.
However, the authority did not clear the first ever vehicular underpass in the city. When queried on the reservations that authority members had about the underpass, estimated to cost approximately Rs400 crore, metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana said, “The cost of the underpass should first be compared with that of a flyover. Some members opined that instead of constructing two underpasses and another flyover for better connectivity to Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), the idea of constructing all three flyovers should also be explored. Now we will go back to the drawing board and carry out a comparative analysis,” said Asthana.
As per the proposal, MMRDA was to construct two vehicular underpasses, one from BKC to Kherwadi junction for northbound traffic, one from Western Express Highway (WEH) to BKC for southbound traffic, and a 650-metre-long flyover from E block in BKC up to the Indian Oil building on the WEH.
The authority also decided to hold a public consultation programme for the development of Uttan-Gorai-Manori area as a tourist destination. “However, before finalising such crucial plans, participation of locals and finding ways to sustain their livelihood cannot be lost sight of,” said chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is also MMRDA chairman.
