With an aim to ease traffic movement along Sion-Panvel highway, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) is contemplating to build a tunnel on the proposed Kharghar-Turbhe Link Road (KTLR). Once constructed, the road will cut travel time by around 30 minutes for motorists from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.
“As per the final alignment of the road, it will start from opposite Juinagar Railway Station on Sion-Panvel Highway and will merge into 30-meter-wide existing road beyond junction of Gurudwara and Central Park, Kharghar,” a senior CIDCO official said not wishing to be named.
“The length of the alignment is 5.490 km with tunnel portion of 1.763 km along with elevated viaduct of 3.4 km. The road will have 4+4 lanes with two unidirectional tunnels with all safety precautions,” the official said adding, necessary provisions will be made for catering to the commercial traffic.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2,100 Crore and is likely to be completed within four years.
Aim of project
The project intends to establish direct connectivity between Vashi, Juinagar and Nerul nodes of Navi Mumbai within Mumbai Metropolitan Region to International Corporate Park in Kharghar, the official concluded.
Meanwhile, CIDCO plans to finalise the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of 2, 3 and 4 lines of Navi Mumbai Metro within next a month. The planning agency is contemplating to increase the Metro infrastructure to other nodes of the planned city.
While Lines 2, 3, and 4 will extend from Pendhar, passing through MIDC Taloja and parts of Khandeshwar, we are conducting feasibility study to expand the Metro to other parts of the city too. The study is being conducted by CIDCO with the help of various government agencies.
Metro services to be expanded to other nodes
The Metro services would be expanded to other nodes such as Airoli, Vashi, Koparkhairane, Ghansoli and Nerul to ease the commute and increase connectivity till Belapur. “These routes, once finalized and operational, will help people reach the central business district without facing traffic snarls and reducing commuting time,” the CIDCO official said.
Besides, the CIDCO administration is also planning to provide better connectivity to the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport and will be finalising the DPR for the Mankhurd-Belapur and Belapur-NMIA routes at the earliest. “While Mankhurd-Belapur route will help the commuters from Mumbai to reach NMIA in less time, the Belapur-NMIA route, having intersection at somewhere near NMMC headquarters, will help people catch the flight in no time and save the travel time,” the CIDCO official added.
