Mumbai Coastal Road connector to sea link to open by July end

The girder will connect the Coastal Road to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link

One of the connectors between the Coastal Road and the Bandra Worli Sea Link may open by the end of July. Initially, the arch bridges were scheduled to open by the end of October, marking the final stage of the Mumbai Coastal Road project.

The construction of the 10.5 km Coastal Road from Marine Lines to Worli is in progress. The BMC has already opened two sections, the southbound route from Worli to Marine Lines on March 11, and the northbound route from Marine Lines to Worli Lotus Jetty on June 10. These routes cover approximately 6.5 km. According to recent plans, the BMC intended to open the third phase from Nariman Point to Worli by July 10.

The Coastal Road was originally planned to connect with the Bandra-Worli Sea Link through two arch bridge girders by the end of October. However, during a visit to the Coastal Road on Thursday night, CM Eknath Shinde instructed BMC officials to open one of the connector bridges to the sea link by the end of July.

After reviewing the progress of the inter-passage, roads, marine walkways, and other infrastructure along the route from Marine Drive to Worli, Shinde informed the media that there are two connector bridges planned to link the road to the sea link using two bow arch string girders. The girders are already in place, and he has instructed that one of the connectors be opened by the end of July for traffic in both directions, north to south and south to north. Initially, the CM ordered an increase in the span between the two piers of the road from 60 metres to 120 metres to avoid inconveniencing fishermen in the future.

The first girder was set up on April 26 while the second one was set up on May 12. Weighing 2,500 metric tons, the second girder is relatively larger in weight, length, and width than the first one. The first girder weighs 2,000 MT.

The work of constructing roads and waterproofing takes time before the connector is ready for use. Construction of the Coastal Road began in October 2018 and it was supposed to be completed within four years. However, after two additional years, the work is still incomplete and now the road is opening to the public in phases.

10.5km
Length of the Coastal Road