The Mumbai Coastal Road will bring down travel time between Marine Drive and Worli to less than 10 minutes, which usually takes 45-50 minutes during peak hours. Vehicles will be allowed to ply on this road from Tuesday (March 12) onwards between 8 am and 8 pm.

In the first phase, the coastal road will be opened for vehicular movement between Marine Drive and Worli, which will be around 9.5 km of the total stretch that will allow southbound traffic movement. (Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

In the first phase, the coastal road will be opened for vehicular movement between Marine Drive and Worli, which will be around 9.5 km of the total stretch that will allow southbound traffic movement. The entire stretch will be operational from May 2024 after the final under-construction bridge that will connect the arterial road with BWSL is completed.

Taking shots at the former government and leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “Some leaders are claiming that they have worked on the project. However, when the members of the Koli community approached the former government with their demand for expansion, they tried to make excuses for engineering specifications and did not consider their demands. When I was approached by the Kolis when we came to power, we ensured their demands were met.”

“The project is being carried out for the benefit of the people and if we can’t help the Kolis, who reside here and are, in fact, the first inhabitants of the city, then what is the point of the project? As per the demands of the Koli community, we agreed that the span should be increased and extended to 120 metres for their benefit,” Shinde added.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Devendra Fadnavis said the partial opening of this project will bring huge respite for Mumbaikars. “As Mumbaikars are facing a lot of traffic woes, we decided to open one lane of this project, while the second lane is still yet to be opened. Even with this single lane, traffic congestion in South Mumbai will be reduced by 50 per cent,” Fadnavis said.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Devendra Fadnavis said the partial opening of this project will bring huge respite for Mumbaikars. (Express Photo by Sankhadeep Mukherjee)

Taking a dig at the former chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, Fadnavis said, “Coastal Road is not new, the idea of this project was conceived decades ago. However, the project wasn’t implemented on the ground since it required modification of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) rules. Between 2004-2014, there was a UPA Government at the Centre as well as in the state, however, nobody took the initiative to push the Centre to tweak the norms. It was only after we (BJP) government came to power in the Centre and state, that this project got the much needed push and after only five meetings with the union ministry, we were able to modify the existing CRZ rules”.

Meanwhile, DCM Ajit Pawar said upon completion, the coastal road will provide Mumbaikars with an additional 300 acres of green cover.

“Mumbai is now ranked as one of the most polluted cities in India, our government has vowed to make this city free from the pollution woes. The coastal road is a major milestone which will not only lead to a reduction in carbon footprint but also will provide an added green cover of 175 acres to the city. The open spaces of the coastal road will be connected with Mahalaxmi Racecourse with an underground tunnel that will collectively become an open space upto 300 acres,” Pawar said.