The BMC has commenced the on-ground work of package B of the Coastal Road’s (North) phase II, which connects Versova to Bhayandar. “The road trenching began last week for the section which is overground and does not fall under the coastal regulation zone (CRZ). The work of the rest six packages (all fall under CRZ) will begin only after all environment-related clearances are received,” said additional municipal commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar.
The work of Coastal Road North is divided into a total of seven packages. The BMC last month received in-principle stage 1 clearance for the mangrove diversion from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for the Versova-Bhayander project. The civic body will now seek final approval from the Bombay High Court.
Additional commissioner Bangar who visited Andheri West to review the on-ground situation said, “There are several factors like preventing bottlenecks as the northern section has several interchanges. We also took an update on land acquisition. The northern section will completely change the city’s road infrastructure, connecting south Mumbai directly to western suburbs.”
The northern section of the Coastal Road from Bandra to Versova will be constructed by the MSRDC and the section from Versova-Dahisar-Bhayandar will be constructed by the BMC at an approximate cost of Rs 22,000 crore. The nearly 20km project, which will include interchanges and connectors, elevated roads, bridges, and two tunnels, will extend from Versova, Malad, Malvani, Kandivli, Borivli, Dahisar, and Mira Road to Bhayandar.
The project aims to reduce travel time from 90–120 minutes to 15–20 minutes and cut carbon emissions by 55% through fuel savings. However, it will permanently impact 8.24 hectares of mangrove forest, affecting around 9,000 mangrove trees.
The first phase from Marine Drive to Bandra-Worli Sea Link has been completed and opened in stages over the past year.
