24.4.10

Mumbai's Eastern Freeway update


Mumbai’s first twin traffic tunnel is coming up at the foot of a hill at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Workers are toiling to complete the project before December end. The twin tunnels are approximately 500 metres each. They are 17-metre wide and 10-metre in height and will have four carriageways in each tunnel. Commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Ratnakar Gaikwad, said the twin tunnel is part of the four-lane Eastern Freeway Project which starts near P D’Mello Road and will go on to the Mumbai Port Trust road before joining the Eastern Express Highway via the Anik Panjrapole Link Road near Wadala. MMRDA officials said the cost of the twin tunnels will amount to Rs 54 crore while the Anik Panjrapole Link Road will cost Rs 221 crore. The cost of the entire Eastern Expressway will come to Rs 531 crore. The officials said the project’s second phase will link the Anik Panjrapole Link Road with Ghatkopar, making access for the people who live in the eastern suburbs easier. Joint metropolitan commissioner, Ashwini Bhide, said the land for the project has been acquired from the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and BARC. “The MMRDA had to re-route the HPCL aviation fuel pipeline and a new boundary wall was built for the BARC land.’’ Bhide said the freeway has two of its sections built as an elevated bridge. It has 7 km of its roadway through the Mumbai Port Trust land as an overhead bridge. A 3-km elevated section at the Ghatkopar end has been planned. “Once completed, the 21-km Eastern Freeway Project will make the commute easier for people who travel between south Mumbai and the eastern suburbs,’’ she said.

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