Versova-Virar Sea Link: MSRDC to gauge traffic till 2050

In a bid to explore the scope of constructing a sea-link between Versova and Virar, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has begun the process to study the passenger traffic in the region. The study is expected to predict the same till beyond 2050.

The Versova-Virar Sea-Link is an extension of the Bandra-Versova Sea-Link for which pre-construction work began in October this year.

An MSRDC official said, "We have started the process of preparing a feasibility study for extending Bandra-Versova Sea-Link upto Virar, and as part of it we are going to conduct the study to understand financial and technical viability of the project. The feasibility report will be prepared by a third party consultant on our behalf."

A document floated by the MSRDC to conduct the feasibility study, reads, "The consultants will make use of already developed appropriate mathematical transportation models developed in various studies for estimating passenger traffic by different modes and predict the same beyond 2050. The consultant shall conduct traffic volume survey for at least 3 days and also an origin destination survey to estimate the need and capacity of the bridge."

As of 2017, there are around 32 lakh registered vehicles in the city. Over 70 lakh passengers use the suburban local train daily followed by around 30 lakh people commuting through BEST bus services and 4 lakh using Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro-1 as for transportation.

According to MSRDC, the proposed interchanges — entry and exit for proposed extension of sea-link — between Versova and Virar will be at Malad, Kandivali, Gorai, Bhayander, Vasai and Virar. However, the total length and the cost of the extension is not known yet considering the feasibility report on the same is yet to be prepared.