Mumbai: MMRDA proposes 3 creek bridges between Thane-Bhiwandi

Mumbai: While the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is considering constructing three bridges across Vasai creek to improve traffic flow between Thane and Bhiwandi, it may not proceed with building all of them. The three locations identified for the creek bridges are Gaimukh to Payegaon, Kasarvadavali to Kharbav and Kolshet to Kalher.

“We first want to get a detailed project report ready to check the feasibility and other details about these three link bridges. If the consultant's report is positive, we will proceed with the execution of the project, else we may drop the bridge found unfeasible and go ahead with the better alternative from the three. For this, we have initiated the process to appoint a consultant,” said an MMRDA official.

The options that will be provided to the consultant to study include the 1.1km-long bridge and 1.8km of approach roads between Gaimukh and Payegaon, 800m of bridge and a 1km-long approach road between Kasarvadavali in Thane to Kharbao in Bhiwandi and the 1km-long bridge and 500m-long road to connect Kolshet with



Kalher.

Currently, there are three bridges crossing Vasai creek. The first is the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway, the second is between Balkum and Kasheli and the third connects Kharegaon and Anjur on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway. Of these three, to cross the creek, Balkum-Kasheli is one of the most popular routes, the other being the Kharegaon-Anjur link. The existing lengthy detour takes about an hour's road journey. The proposed connectivity will reduce travel time to just 15 minutes

Thane has transformed from being a town on the outskirts of Mumbai to an independent city. On the other side, Bhiwandi too has outgrown, thanks to the warehousing and logistics industry that has unlocked the potential of this distant suburb and created employment opportunities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Over the last few decades, the metropolis, like many other major cities of the world, has been experiencing significant deficiencies in the social and physical infrastructural systems. Hence, the requirement to upgrade infrastructure and connectivity within the region.