There is good news for residents of the Sanpada node in Navi Mumbai as there will be one more option to enter Palm Beach Road by through service road. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has floated tender for construction of the vehicular underpass on Palm Beach road near Kesar Solitate building at sector 19 in Sanpada in Turbhe ward. The underpass will be first on the 10-km long Palm Beach Road.
The vehicular underpass will be constructed on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.
If all goes as per the plan, the vehicular underpass will be ready for motorists in the next 18 months. The civic body has already floated tender and the cost of the project will be around Rs 25 crores. The civic chief has already approved the project.
At present, there is only one access point to Palm Beach road from the Sanapda node at Moraj Circle. For a long time, local residents and public representatives were demanding additional access points to Palm Beach Road.
Dashrath Bhagat, a former standing committee member who has been demanding alternate access said that a major part of the Sanpada has only an entry point to Palm Beach road. “The plotting of sector number 1, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16 A, 17, 18, and 19 was done in 2000 by CIDCO and there is a provision of only a single road. This leads to traffic congestion most of the time,” said Bhagat, adding that during an emergency, it would be difficult for residents to get out of the nodes.
As per the plan, the service road at Kesar Solitare will connect the Palm Beach. “A vehicular underpass will be constructed over the Palm Beach road to give access to vehicles coming from Sanpada node,” said an official from NMMC’s Engineering department. He added that vehicles coming from the Sanpada node will take a right turn from the underpass to go towards Vashi. Similarly, vehicles coming from Vashi and going towards Belapur will cross the underpass from above. After awarding the contract, the contractor will have to complete the work within 18 months.
Haresh Chheda, President of Builders Association of Navi Mumbai said that the project is likely to increase the market value of the node. Recently four plots were auctioned by CIDCO and they received a good price. “Well-known developers are showing interest due to this project which will make more accessible to the node,” said Chheda. He added that Godrej Property and Shelton Group made the highest bid of Rs 2,70,000 per sqm and Rs 287,154 per sqm for different plots respectively at sector 19 in Sanapda node.
