To ease traffic, MTHL road to be connected to Mumbai-Pune Expressway: MMRDA

This will be done by constructing an elevated corridor connecting the expressway to MTHL with an interchange at Chirle.

Mumbai: In an attempt to solve heavy traffic jams, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), country’s longest road bridge, will be connected with the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said on Wednesday.

Tenders have been called for the corridor, which will be built at a cost of ₹1,000 crore. (File)

This will be done by constructing an elevated corridor connecting the expressway to MTHL with an interchange at Chirle, a fast-developing residential area adjoining Uran and Ulwe, on the outskirts of Navi Mumbai.

Tenders have been called for the corridor, which will be built at a cost of ₹1,000 crore, and is expected to cut down travel time between Lonavala, Khandala and Mumbai by 90 minutes. It will also solve the bottleneck issue in Navi Mumbai caused by narrow lane connectivity and will create smoother traffic movement between Mumbai and Pune.

The 21.8 km long MTHL sea bridge, meanwhile, links Sewri in Mumbai and to Nhava Sheva in Raigad and is 92% complete. It is expected to be operational by December 2023. It is also connected with the Eastern Freeway which will allow motorists to take a signal-free bridge from Sewri to CSMT. The project is being executed at ₹ 18,000 crore.

The MMRDA recently completed casting a total 3,132 segments for one of the stretches of the bridge.

SVR Srinivas, Metropolitan Commissioner MMRDA said. “It’s a wonderful achievement as we cross one more milestone and move a little closer towards finishing the project.”

Currently, the roads in the Nhava Sheva area of Navi Mumbai are congested and vehicles spend over 40 minutes in traffic during peak hours. Using the MTHL, the vehicles can take a 1.5km detour and bypass the traffic. This would be beneficial for frequent travellers from Mumbai to Pune. It will also pass by the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Recently, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding the MTHL, extended an official development assistance (ODA) loan of 30,755 million Yen (approximately ₹1,927 crore) for the project. This is the third tranche of the project and the loan agreement for the first and second tranches were signed on March 31, 2017, and March 27, 2020, respectively.