In a surprise move, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is mulling cancellation of its plan to construct a 5.6-km long elevated flyover that was supposed to connect Eastern Freeway (Orange Gate) at P D Mello Road with Grant Road in south Mumbai.
Civic officials said the project is being cancelled since the alignment of the proposed flyover will be similar to that of an underground tunnel the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is constructing. The proposed 4.46-km tunnel will extend between Orange Gate and Marine Drive.
Confirming the move with the Indian Express, Mumbai municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said, “Yes, we are considering cancellation of the proposed flyover. At present, we are discussing the matter with the MMRDA and traffic police.”
The tenders for the proposed flyover were floated in May 2023 and the work order was awarded to J Kumar infraprojects and RPS infraprojects on a joint venture for Rs 1,329 crore in March last year. During the 10-month period of floating the tender and finalising the contractor, the civic authorities had to extend the tender deadline multiple times to get response from an adequate number of bidders. Last November, the civic authorities had initiated soil testing for this project.
The proposed flyover would pass through some of the densely populated areas including Sandhurst Road, Masjid and Grant Road. The flyover was supposed to be a cable-stayed bridge that would be like a dispersal arm which will traverse towards the west, 1-km ahead of the Freeway’s landing at P D Mello Road, in a way that vehicles can travel through it directly without having to get down and would bring down travel time to 5-7 minutes which usually takes 30-45 minutes depending on traffic.
Meanwhile, the MMRDA had planned construction of underground twin tunnels that would extend between Marine Drive and Orange Gate–an alignment quite similar to the proposed flyover. The tunnel will run approximately 40-metres below the surface and is being built at a cost of Rs 6,717 crore. The work orders were awarded to Larsen and Toubro in 2023.
“Considering the flyover would pass through a densely populated area, there would be an issue of securing land parcels and relocating project-affected people. Meanwhile, the tunnel would pass from below the ground where these kinds of issues will not exist. Therefore, it was decided to cancel the flyover project since there will be no point to have two different projects with a similar alignment,” an official told Express.
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The proposed twin tunnel will be 4.46-km long and will be 9.6 metres wide–comprising two vehicular lanes and one emergency lane. The cylindrical tunnels will run primarily below the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Road and will connect with Marine Drive via the southern tip of the coastal road.
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