The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced plans to construct a new bridge that will connect the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) to Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg (LBS Marg), providing a faster and smoother commute for the residents of the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai.
The proposed bridge will be a 1.8-km long elevated corridor that will start from the Hotel Grand Hyatt near Raza Chowk in Santacruz and end at the McDonald’s junction near LBS Marg in Kurla. The bridge will have four lanes, two on each side, and will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 481 crore.
The BMC has received the approval from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for the project, and the work is expected to begin by April 2024. The bridge is likely to be completed by December 2027.
The new bridge is part of the extension work of the SCLR, an arterial road that connects the Western Express Highway (WEH) in Santacruz with the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in Chembur. The SCLR, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2014, has reduced the travel time between Santacruz and Chembur from 90 minutes to 17 minutes.
The SCLR extension project aims to decongest the traffic at the Vakola junction and the Kurla railway station, and also provide a direct link between the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and the WEH. The project will also benefit the airport-bound vehicular traffic, as they can reach BKC within minutes.
The BMC has claimed that the new bridge will ease the traffic woes of the commuters and improve the connectivity between the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai. The bridge will also enhance the accessibility to the upcoming metro lines and the coastal road project.
