Last stretch of Santacruz Chembur Link Road to be inaugurated tomorrow
The Santacruz Chembur Link Road offers a direct, signal-free passage from the eastern to western suburbs. It will reduce travel time and make airport connectivity smoother.
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Originally designed as a single 300 metric tonne launch, the deck of the bridge was instead launched in two 140 and 160 metric tonne segments to enable safe positioning and minimal disruption.The last leg of the extension of the Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), with a cable-stayed bridge over the Western Express Highway (WEH), will open for traffic on August 14. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will flag off the bridge, which links CSMT Road in Kurla to the WEH close to Vakola, offering a direct, signal-free passage from the eastern to western suburbs.
The project, carried out by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), aims to decongest University Junction and the Hans Bhugra Marg signal, two of Santacruz’s most critical bottlenecks.
Commuters from Kurla, Chembur, Chunabhatti and the Bandra-Kurla Complex can now move directly onto the WEH, cutting delays for both traffic bound for the airport and those driving to the western suburbs.
This last stretch of the SCLR is a 215-metre-long deck, 25 metres above the ground. Its noteworthy feature is a 90-degree curve with a 100-metre turning radius, a first-time alignment attempt in Asia.
An MMRDA official said, “The engineers had to overcome the challenge of finishing construction without stopping traffic on the WEH.”
Originally designed as a single 300 metric tonne launch, the deck of the bridge was instead launched in two 140 and 160 metric tonne segments to enable safe positioning and minimal disruption.
The SCLR extension project was initiated in 2016, with an expected deadline of 2019 and an allocated budget of Rs 450 crore. Delays due to design issues, contractor performance, and repeated extensions of deadlines increased the cost to Rs 650 crore.
The MMRDA had penalised the contractor for poor progress, but work still encountered engineering and logistical challenges.
The flyover will also bring down traffic significantly on Vakola, BKC, and LBS Marg. “The new connector will help reduce travel times and make airport connectivity smoother,” an MMRDA official said. On opening, it will enable vehicles to avoid several signals and merge directly into the northbound WEH lanes towards Dahisar.
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