Mumbaikars' traffic pains are set to lessen, thanks to a bow-string bridge connecting the Coastal Road directly to Bandra-Worli Sea Link. With this bridge, travel time from Marine Drive to Bandra is expected to reduce from 45-60 minutes to 15-20 minutes. It is now possible to travel from South Bombay to the airport in about half an hour — a journey that easily took more than an hour earlier.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inspected the new connector today before it is opened to regular traffic tomorrow.
Vehicles heading from south Mumbai to Bandra can now directly enter the sea link between 7 am and 11 pm. The southbound vehicles, however, will have to continue using the regular route till both arms of the Coastal Road are connected to the sea link.
This is the fourth opening on the Coastal Road, an ambitious project with a budget of over Rs 14,000 crore. The road, which is becoming operational in phases, is aimed at declogging the Maximum City's roads and improving the commuter experience.
The southbound arm of Coastal Road opened from Worli to Marine Drive on March 11. The northbound am opened from Marine Drive till Haji Ali on June 10. Then, on July 11, the stretch from Haji Ali to Worli became operational. And the one opening tomorrow is the fourth stretch.
Addressing the media at the opening of the connector, Chief Minister Shinde said technology from abroad has been used to develop the Coastal Road. "We have a plan to take the Coastal Road from Marine Drive to Versova," he said, adding that objections by some local residents during the construction have also been addressed.
