Motorists from the city's eastern and central suburbs will have something to look forward to as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) cleared a major hurdle in building the Chunabhatti Connector.
The MMRDA launched six girders for the rail over bridge (ROB) at Sion and Chunabhatti stations, completing the crucial link in the flyover which will connect Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The girders were launched in three separate blocks in the early hours of May 18, 19 and 20. At Sion, the span of the girders was 52 meters, while at Chunabhatti it was 60 meters.
Decongesting traffic
“Constructing bridges over rail lines is never an ordinary task. However, MMRDA’s team of engineers got relentless support from the railways and contractors to complete the job,” said R. A. Rajeev, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA. The ₹155 crore elevated road from BKC to EEH is expected to decongest traffic in Sion-Dharavi area, reducing the journey by 3 kms and travel time by 30 minutes.
MMRDA officials said that around 82% of the work is completed and the project will take a few more months to be thrown open. The project, which was announced in April 2015 and has seen several delays in its execution. MMRDA officials said that the work may slow down during the monsoons.
The connector will provide direct access to BKC to motorists from eastern suburbs as well as Navi Mumbai who would otherwise use the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road or come via the Sion junction. The 1.6-km elevated road will start near Priyadarshini building on Eastern Express Highway and enter BKC at G block near the Jet Airways-Godrej building.