Mumbai Coastal Road phase 2 to be opened by June 10

Chief minister Eknath Shinde made the announcement while inspecting a leakage at the southbound tunnel at Marine Drive, which was a part of the first phase of the coastal road inaugurated in March

Mumbai: The second phase of the Mumbai Coastal Road (MCR), between Worli and Marine Drive, will be opened by June 10, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde announced on Tuesday. Shinde made the announcement while inspecting a leakage at the southbound tunnel at Marine Drive, which was a part of the first phase of the coastal road inaugurated in March.

Mumbai, India. Mar 12,2024: Worli to Marine Drive 9.5 kilometres of the 10.58-kilometre Dharmveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Road (Coastal Road) opened to traffic for the public on Tuesday morning. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated the first phase of the coastal road between Worli and Marine Drive on March 11.Mar 12,2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

“Phase 2 of the coastal road will tentatively open on June 10 from Marine Drive to Haji Ali, but we are also trying to open from the Worli side,” said Dr Amit Saini, additional municipal commissioner, BMC. “The whole coastal road from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link to Marine Drive will be opened by October. Two to three arms may not be there but the rest will be open.”

Speaking to reporters after the inspection, Shinde noted that there were leakages in two to three expansion joints of the coastal road, which will be repaired using polymer grouting. The chief minister also recommended applying polymer grouting to all 25 joints on each side of the tunnel to prevent water seepage, even during the monsoon season. Shinde also assured that the repair work would not affect vehicular movement on the coastal road.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray stated that the coastal road would have been completed and opened to the public by December 2023 if the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance had remained in power. “However, after the corrupt regime toppled our government, they slowed down the work and focused on cost escalation,” Thackeray wrote in a post on X.

He also asserted that the first phase was hastily inaugurated by the Mahayuti alliance to claim credit before the elections, and promised that the MVA would investigate the delay once it formed the government.