Easy and smooth commute for Mumbaikars! Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road flyover likely to be open soon

The flyover is said to help ease the commute between the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai. (representational image)

Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road: After a long delay of three years, the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road flyover is expected to be thrown open to the public by mid of August. Development work on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road flyover, which is one of the crucial flyovers, is currently 97 per cent complete, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials quoted in an IE report. The flyover is said to help ease the commute between the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai. Officials from the Corporation’s bridges department said that the overall flyover project is almost over and now only petty works remain such as asphalting and painting of some stretches of the flyover.

Satish Thosar, Chief Engineer (in charge), bridges department, was quoted in the report saying that BMC is hopeful that the remaining works of the flyover will be completed by mid-August. The construction work for the 2.1 kilometre long flyover began in the year 2016 and the project’s original deadline was January 2019. Last February, the BMC Standing Committee cleared a proposal of cost escalation and deadline extension for the flyover project. The flyover project cost has increased to Rs 713 crore from the initial amount of Rs 576 crore. For delay, a fine of Rs 40 lakh has also been imposed on the contractor by the BMC.

According to officials, the delay on the project has been caused primarily due to an additional arm construction for the Deonar dumping ground. Another official from BMC mentioned that the arm for the Deonar dumping ground is ready and it will help garbage vans to seamlessly reach the site. The flyover, once opened, will provide much relief to motorists, the official added.

Meanwhile, there has been a controversy over the naming of the flyover. Rahul Shewale, a Shiv Sena MP has written to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray demanding that the flyover project be named after Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, according to the report. While last December, Manoj Kotak, a BJP MP had written to the BMC seeking that the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road flyover be named after Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the report added.