Ghodbunder Road relief nears as Gaimukh-Payegaon creek bridge piling nears completion
MMRDA says piling work on the Gaimukh-Payegaon creek bridge is 95 percent done, promising an alternative to Ghodbunder Road traffic
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Thousands of daily commuters on Thane's Ghodbunder Road, long troubled by heavy traffic jams and congestion from heavy vehicles, are set for relief. Work on the Gaimukh-Payegaon creek bridge, taken up by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), has picked up pace.
Piling work in the creek is now 95 percent complete. Work on building piers and pier caps for the project has now been sped up. Once built, the bridge will offer a direct and much better alternative to Ghodbunder Road.
MMRDA has handed the responsibility for building the four-lane elevated creek bridge between Gaimukh and Payegaon to Ashoka Buildcon. At present, commuters travelling from Gaimukh to Payegaon must take a roughly 31.5 kilometre detour via Fountain Hotel junction and Chinchoti before reaching Payegaon.
Once the new bridge opens, this long detour will be eliminated, providing a shortcut that directly connects traffic between the key towns of Thane, Bhiwandi and Vasai.
Piling work on the massive six and a half kilometre four-lane bridge has now reached its final stage, at 95 percent completion. In stretches where piling is complete, work has begun on erecting piers, and pier caps are being installed on them at a fast pace.
According to MMRDA, 25 percent of the overall project has been completed so far. The ambitious bridge is planned to be completed within the next 42 months, at an approved cost of Rs 1,551.18 crore.
MMRDA has given this creek bridge an important place in its traffic plan to further speed up movement in Thane and the surrounding area. The bridge will eventually connect with major infrastructure projects including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, the Thane coastal road, the Virar-Alibaug multimodal corridor, the Diva-Vasai railway line, National Highway 48 (NH-48) and the Anjur-Chinchoti road, further boosting Thane's importance as a regional economic centre.
Ghodbunder Road in Thane sees heavy traffic round the clock. The entire load of passenger and goods vehicles travelling from Thane towards Mumbai's western suburbs, Mira-Bhayandar and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway currently falls on this single route.
Once the Gaimukh-Payegaon bridge opens, pressure from heavy vehicles on Ghodbunder Road will reduce considerably, making travel easier, safer and faster for thousands of commuters.
