BKC coastal road to be ready by Nov-end

The BKC coastal road, a 2.2-km bypass, aims to ease traffic congestion in Mumbai's business district and may open by late November.

Mumbai: The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) coastal road – a signal-free bypass along the Mithi river using which motorists can zoom from one end of BKC to the other – is likely to be thrown open to the public by the November-end. The new 2.2-km road is likely to ease traffic congestion within the premier business district, although bottlenecks to enter and exit the district are likely to continue.

Ground strengthening and compacting works on the road are already over and concretisation work is likely to begin in a few days, said officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

Being constructed at a cost of ₹4 crore, the road runs between the MTNL junction and the R2 MMRDA ground next to BKC connector bridge. Ground strengthening and compacting works on this stretch are already over and concretisation work is likely to begin in a few days, said officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

“As the monsoon is over and the dry spell is set to commence, cement concrete will be poured on the stretch in the next few days and it will be cured for the designated period to strengthen the road,” said an official.

Another official said there was a possibility of the road being thrown open during the assembly polls; voting in Maharashtra is scheduled on November 20 and counting on November 23.

Vehicular congestion has not reduced despite the construction of multiple flyovers such as the BKC connector (between BKC and Chunabhatti), the Santacruz Chembur Link Road, the Santacruz Chembur Link Road arm to BKC and two flyovers to cross the Kalanagar Junction. Ongoing construction work for Mumbai Metro 2B, which runs through the length of BKC, also adds to the congestion. This metro line will link the business district with Dahisar East and Mankhurd.