The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is planning to add three extra road connectors to the proposed Versova-Bandra Sea Link (VBSL) at Bandra, Juhu and Versova to seamlessly connect it to the Western Express Highway.
Radheshyam Mopalwar, vice-chairman and managing director of MSRDC, made the announcement on Tuesday after signing the agreement for the construction of the sea link with a consortium of Reliance Infrastructure and Astaldi S.p.A of Italy.
Three connectors
The bridge will connect the sea link to the mainland at Otters Club in Bandra, Juhu Koliwada in Juhu and Nana Nani Park in Versova.
Mr. Mopalwar said work on the project would commence in October and 60,000 vehicles are expected to use the link on its completion in September 2023. The 17.17-km link will reduce journey time between Versova and Worli to 15 minutes.
He said Louis Berger, who were the consultants for the VBSL, will be undertaking a feasibility study on having another connector between Bandra Fort and the sea link, and extending the connectors at Juhu Koliwada and Nana Nani Park to Western Express Highway. He said. “The idea is to connect the two airports to the sea link, reducing the load on the Western Express Highway.”
The extension at Juhu Koliwada is expected to meet the Western Express Highway at Milan Subway. The extension from Nana Nani park will connect at Juhu Circle and go along Barfiwala lane to the Western Express Highway. MSRDC officials said that it was too early to comment on the cost of executing the projects and if the extensions will be entirely elevated. Mr. Mopalwar said, “The extensions are not very long in comparison with the rest of the project. We are aiming to complete them at the same time as the VBSL is expected to commence.”
He added, “The Bandra Worli Sea Link was built across a creek. This project is out at sea and is three times the length.” Mr. Mopalwar said a technical feasibility study will be undertaken for creating a sea link up to Virar. He said, “Western Express Highway looks less like a highway and more like a road. The VBSL will not resolve the congestion in the northern sections of the highway.” The toll for using the entire stretch is pegged at ₹250 for cars and will be in force until 2052.
RInfra-Astaldi bags ₹7,000-cr. project
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Limited in association with Italian major Astaldi S.p.A, the world’s third largest player in bridge construction, signed an agreement with the MSRDC on Tuesday for the construction of the ₹7,000-crore VBSL.
RInfra-Astaldi had earlier bagged the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project with their bid of ₹6,993.99 crore. They outbid L&T-Samsung and Hyundai Development Company-ITD.
Lalit Jalan, CEO of Reliance Infrastructure, said, “Once completed, the VBSL will transform the way people live and travel in Mumbai.”
Reliance Infra-Astaldi has to commission the project in five years from the appointed date. However, owing to the monsoons, the work would be completely stalled for three months each year.
Running against time
Mr. Jalan said, “We have effectively just over three-and-a-half years to complete this complex project. It is three times the size of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which took 10 years to build. However, we are very confident that we will complete the project in time.”
