Work on BKC-Eastern Express Highway connector stuck

Work mostly finished, but expected to be done by June as CR approvals awaited

January 25, 2019 12:22 am | Updated 12:24 am IST - Mumbai

Motorists on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) should brace themselves for traffic snarls through the summer as the flyover connecting EEH to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) is expected to be completed only by June 2019. While most of the work has been completed, the key pending issues are clearances from Central Railway (CR) to build the sections across the central line at Sion and Harbour line at Chunabhatti.

“We have been having regular discussions with the railways to get the required clearances. We hope to get a positive reply soon,” said Dilip Kawathkar, spokesperson, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). MMRDA officials said that most of the work has been completed on either side of the tracks, which includes the crucial section over the Mithi River to enter BKC.

Sources said that the MMRDA last week received an in-principle approval from the railways for the megablocks near Sion station. “They (the railways) have agreed to grant us the block and have said that the proposal is with the safety department. A clearance from the safety department is mandatory for such works,” a senior MMRDA official said. Sources said that the CR has agreed to provide blocks of three hours spread across two to three days at Sion.

An MMRDA official explained that the portion near Sion station is crucial as it would allow the portion at Chunabhatti (on the harbour line) to be launched.

The work at Sion is also more complicated as the bridge spans across four tracks and a block may affect long distance passenger trains along with suburban trains. It is only after the girders near Sion station are launched, can work near Chunabhatti commence. MMRDA officials said that they are yet to send a scheme of work to the CR for the megablock at Chunabhatti.

The 1.6-km long elevated road will start near Priyadarshini building on EEH and will enter BKC at G-Block. Once completed it will cut the average travel time to BKC from central and eastern suburbs by 30 minutes and will help decongest Dharavi and Sion junctions. The project, which was announced in April 2015, is said to cost around ₹156 crore. EEH will also get narrower in the coming months as the MMRDA will increase barricading along the highway for the Wadala-Kasarvadavali Metro Line 4.

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