CM okays 12-lane road widening project at Marine Drive

The Maharashtra government plans to widen Marine Drive from 6 to 12 lanes to prevent future traffic jams linked to the upcoming Orange Gate tunnel.

MUMBAI: The state government has planned to widen a stretch of Marine Drive, the pride of Mumbai, from its existing six lanes to 12 lanes to avoid traffic snarls, which it feels is imminent, after the tunnel connecting Orange Gate, inside Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA), and Marine Drive is completed 2028.

Mumbai, Dec 07 (ANI): An aerial view of Marine Drive curving along the Arabian Sea, in Mumbai on Friday. (ANI Photo) (Girish Shrivastav)

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis green-lit the idea after a meeting with top government officials held at Sahyadri, the state guesthouse, on Friday, where the issue of traffic clogs in the stretch between the Princess Street flyover and NCPA in the future owing to the Orange Gate-Marine Drive tunnel and the Marine Drive arm of the Coastal Road, was discussed.

Fadnavis confirmed the decision in a text message to HT, saying, “It’s a solution keeping the city’s needs 25 years ahead; we have seen traffic jams at this point due to the Coastal Road tunnel during peak hours. We will, however, ensure that the nature of the Queen’s Necklace is not changed.”

The Orange Gate-Marine Drive tunnel is being constructed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to connect the Eastern Freeway, and Atal Setu, to Marine Drive and the Coastal Road. The government has planned the ring road-like project for seamless connectivity.

Sources in the government told HT that while Mumbai traffic police had given an NOC for the tunnel in 2023, it had only recently red-flagged to MMRDA and the state government about the possibility of traffic snarls when the tunnel is completed. Following this, MMRDA chalked out a few alternate alignments. Some of its options were to create a road under the Oval maidan or a road running under the area occupied by the Navy, in the Naval Dockyard, among others.

In Friday’s discussions, these options were deemed impractical -- residents of Oval maidan would raise objections against possible damages to the Oval as it would have taken up 15 per cent of its space, while the Navy would not have granted permission either as the Western Naval Command and the naval base are located here.

MMRDA had pegged the average cost of the alignments between ₹2000 and ₹2500 crore or more. At the meeting, special police commissioner, Deven Bharti, had suggested that a cantilever bridge between the Cuffe Parade bay and NCPA be built to facilitate smooth movement of cars, which was also shot down. “The changes in alignment would have cost an extra ₹2500 crore which would have meant fresh tendering process and a delay in the project,” an MMRDA officer told HT.

After listening to all the options, Fadnavis approved the idea of widening Marine Drive. According to officials, the project is likely to cost ₹500 crore. The chief minister also stated that the tunnel project is critical to ease congestion on P D’Mello Road and provide a seamless connection between the Eastern Freeway and Atal Setu.

Reacting to the new plan, Ashok Gupta, vice president of Marine Drive Residents’ Association, said, “I don’t think this will be possible – the government will have to take public opinion. There is no doubt, however, that the situation of traffic is worsening.” Apart from HNIs, Marine Drive also houses bureaucrats and ministers.

Last year, a part of Marine Drive – from Pransukhlal Mafatlal Bath to Bhausaheb Bandodkar flyover -- was widened to facilitate construction of the Worli-Marine Drive arm of the Coastal Road.

Meanwhile, according to MMRDA records, 10 per cent of the work on the Orange Gate-Marine Drive tunnel has been completed. A tunnel boring machine will soon be brought into use.

Officials who attended the meeting were chief secretary Sujata Saunik, commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Bhushan Gagrani, principal secretary Ashwini Bhide, secretary Shrikar Pardeshi, commissioner of MMRDA Sanjay Mukherjee, special police commissioner Deven Bharti and additional metropolitan commissioner Vikram Kumar.