The much awaited Thane Creek Bridge (TCB)-3 construction work has finally begun by the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) that has been appointed as contractor by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), undertaking this project.
The civil work of this much awaited creek bridge was supposed to have begun two years ago however, the want of permission for cutting mangroves and the mutation of land titleship for afforestation was required, therefore the project work could not take off till date. Now with the start of civil work, the Rs 776 crore total project cost is expected to complete within the next three years.
K K Jagtap, executive engineer of MSRDC who is in charge of the project, said, "The first test file for the bridge construction was carried out in December. This project is crucial to ease traffic movement between the two cities."
Reportedly, the MSRDC has allotted 1.4 hectare of land in Erangal at Malad Island for carrying out afforestation. The state government had handed over this land parcel free of cost. Besides, the MSRDC had paid Rs 15 crore separately to the mangrove cell for the conservation of mangroves and flamingo sanctuary affected by this project.
The new TCB-3 once ready will provide six more lanes to the existing TCB-2. The existing TCB-1 and 2 were built in 1973 and 1997 respectively. However, considering the rising vehicular movement and upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport, this new bridge has been proposed to ensure smooth traffic movement and provide smooth connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
