In order to decongest the BKC Road, the MMRDA had planned a 1.6-km elevated road in 2014 and in August awarded the contract for the construction of the same project.The under-construction flyover, connecting Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Chunabhatti, will miss the March deadline, which has been extended to June-end. Sources from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said delay in the project happened as permission from the Railways came in late.
A senior officer of MMRDA said the railways had given permission to work above the tracks. For the placement of girder, the Central Railway will block movement of trains for four hours on March 17 and March 18, he added.
In order to decongest the BKC Road, the MMRDA had planned a 1.6-km elevated road in 2014 and in August awarded the contract for the construction of the same project.
The aim of the flyover was to give motorists direct connectivity from BKC to Easter Express Highway, said an MMRDA officer.
The flyover starts from G-Block of Bandra Kurla Complex and after crossing Mithi River, LBS Marg, Central Railway tracks and VN Mankikar Road leads to Chunabhatti railway station. Then it will further to extended and cross the Harbour railway tracks, pass through Somaiya Trust Ground and join the Eastern Express Highway. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 156 crore.
A senior MMRDA officer said since the flyover was passing over the Central Railway tracks, we need permission to work over the rail lines. For this, the Central Railway has given us a block period of two days — from 1 am to 4 am on Sunday and also the same time frame on Monday.
A Central Railway officer told The Indian Express that the train movements would be restricted on four lines of the Central Railway. This was a major blockade to place the girder, he said.
A senior officer from MMRDA said since 2014, the flyover has missed several deadlines. He added that the project was stalled due to lack of permissions from various government agencies as it involved the Mithi River stream and the railway tracks.
Sources from MMRDA said originally it was a three-year contract, which got extended as the permissions from Somaiya Trust arrived late. “There were 70 slums that were supposed to be cleared in order to connect the flyover. This took some more time. Moreover, it was a prolonged process to get permission from the Somaiya Trust, as the flyover would cross the famous Somaiya ground,” the source added.
A senior officer from MMRDA said once the flyover is open to public, it will ease traffic, reduce the travel time by 20-25 minutes and decongest Sion-Dharavi Road.
