MMRDA moots tunnel, flyover to connect Thane and Bhayandar

A dedicated road between Thane and Bhayandar will not only provide a direct connection between the suburbs, it will also go a long way in easing traffic

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) plans connect Thane with Bhayandar in the western suburbs via a 5.5-km long tunnel and a 9.8-km long elevated road. Estimated to cost around ₹69 crore, the projects are likely to be completed within 4.5 years once contracts are awarded and permissions are received.

Vehicles stuck on Ghodbunder Road in Thane. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

A dedicated road between Thane and Bhayandar will not only provide a direct connection between the suburbs, it will also go a long way in easing the traffic situation as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway (NH 48) connecting the two areas is in pitiable state, causing massive loss of manhours and mishaps.

MMRDA officials said the new road would be established through two separate projects – a tunnel between Gaimukh and Fountain Hotel in Thane Ghodbunder, where the terrain in hilly, followed by an elevated road between Fountain Hotel and Bhayandar which will completely bypass areas under the Mira Road-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation.

The tunnel, proposed to be built at a cost of ₹41 crore, would be 3.5km long and would have three lanes on either side, they said while the elevated road is expected to cost over ₹28 crore.

The plan to link Thane with Bhayander is separate from the proposed 11.8-km long tunnel connecting Thane and Borivali. The tunnel, whose foundation stone was laid by prime minister Narendra Modi earlier this month, will pass beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and its estimated cost is ₹16,600 crore.

“The total length of the tunnel is 11.8 km. It will reduce the transit distance between Thane and Borivali by 12 Km while saving about 1 hour in travel time,” said the official quoted earlier.