Sion-Panvel highway cuts travel time

Mumbai's infrastructure will get a boost with the newly widened Sion-Panvel highway. The highway, running 23.09 km from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to Kalamboli, is the longest corridor of its kind and will reduce travel time on the stretch by more than 30 minutes.

The highway has 10 lanes, with footpaths on either side of the roadway. Six of the lanes will be free of signals that would make it a pleasant drive.

Some of those who have already started using the highway are elated with the experience. "Although I loved going back home to Pune on weekends, the thought of the rough commute would tire me even before I start," said Ritika Marwhe, a media professional from Pune who works in Mumbai.

"But I used the new Sion-Panvel Tollways last week and I was pleasantly surprised as the travel time was down by almost an hour. Not only was the drive faster and safer, it was also a pleasurable experience. The highway is a boon for people like me," she says.

There are flyovers along the route at five locations, three of them at Kamothe. Pedestrian underpasses have been constructed at 13 places. There are two vehicular underpasses – at Shirvane and Vashigaon – and six foot-overbridges.

In addition, 44 bus bays with shelters have been constructed along the corridor. Three bus bays at Vashi, Belapur and Kalamboli are for tourist and inter-state buses.

User fee will be collected at 9+9 lane toll plazas, one at Kamothe for Pune-bound traffic, and another at Kopargaon for Mumbai-bound traffic. Travellers would have the option of buying a monthly pass that would allow seamless and quick passage.

The highway is the latest in a bunch of major projects that's changing the way we travel in the city – like the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) that was completed in April this year, the Sahar Elevated Access Road, which was opened in February, and the Eastern Freeway that was completed last month.

The six-lane SCLR, which has the country's first double-decker flyover, is being used by an estimated 80,000 vehicles daily. It's a phenomenal project on its own and has become so popular that during peak hours the entry and exit points are chock-a-block with vehicles.

Similarly, the elevated Sahar access road and the Eastern Freeway often experience bottlenecks due to accidents and vehicle breakdowns.

The Sion-Panvel highway, however, has been designed after taking into account these experiences from the previous projects and is, therefore, expected to minimise the possibility of jams. Besides, the elevated stretches are separated by flyovers that will help overcome hurdles resulting from breakdowns.

Much thought has gone into the execution of the expressway, like providing breakdown assistance and first-aid in case of emergency. These initiatives are the first of its kind in the country and would set a benchmark for future road projects.

Travel on the highway should be smooth and quick for commuters from Navi Mumbai, Panvel and Sion, as well as those using this stretch to travel to Pune. The toll road will save fuel costs equivalent to two and half times the toll charges. It should also help cut vehicle maintenance costs significantly.

Satish Sane, an office-goer, says, "My work requires me to travel from Sion to Panvel daily. The new highway has come as a life-saver for me. Now I reach Panvel in 30 minutes, against more than an hour earlier. My commute has become hassle-free and I am overjoyed."

Built at a cost of more than Rs1,700 crore for the 17 years of concession period, the construction was completed in record time and well ahead of the deadline. The project was planned with state-of-the-art assistance and there was no displacement of inhabitants in the neighboring areas. Over 1,000 trees in the project area have been transplanted, making it environmentally sustainable.

Much effort has also been devoted to landscaping, including beautification of the space below the flyovers. The aesthetic enhancement of the highway was categorised into flyover units, garden units (pockets or patches of open spaces along the footpaths) and median plantation of trees and shrubs to create green avenues. Local residents were involved in the landscape design work.