In a major boost to efforts to resolve the city’s connectivity woes, the State government has given final approval to crucial infrastructure projects, including the Versova-Bandra Sea Link (VBSL), missing link of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and construction of a third bridge on the Sion-Panvel Highway.
The projects were cleared during a meeting of the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led State Infrastructure Committee (SIC) on Wednesday. The projects aim to reduce travel time from the city to the suburbs, and between Mumbai and Pune in coming years, officials said.
The VBSL, part of the 33-kilometre Coastal Road, will be thrice as long as the 5.6-km Bandra-Worli Sea Link, and will run from Bandra Reclamation to Nana-Nani Park in Versova. It will connect to Carter Road and Juhu Koliwada. Close to 40,740 vehicles are expected to use the VBSL once construction is completed by 2023, officials said. Commuters may have to pay ₹250 as toll for the entire stretch till 2052.
Work on the projects is likely to begin in a month, officials said after the meeting, which was attended by several ministers. The SIC included Minister for Public Works Department Chandrakant Patil, Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan, Water Conservation Minister Ram Shinde, Minister of State for Public Works Department Madan Yerawar, and senior bureaucrats.
An official present at the meeting said, “Traffic arrangements will be made to connect this sea link to the Western Express Highway. Similarly, a route will be developed from Bandra Bus Terminus joining the sea link at Versova Nana Nani Park from the Western Express Highway (Parle junction).”
The committee has also approved the construction of a third bridge on Thane Creek at Vashi; a new lane, or the missing link, in the ghat section between Khopoli and Khandala, and a two-stage tunnel from Khalapur toll booth to Kusgaon (Sinhagad Institute) along with the connecting bridge on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. “The 650 m cable-stayed bridge, the longest in the country will be a tourist attraction,” an official said.
