₹2195 crore Kharghar-Turbhe tunnel to cut travel time by 30 mins

Maharashtra plans to build a ?2,195 crore Kharghar-Turbhe Link Road project to ease traffic on the Sion-Panvel highway, cutting travel times by around 30 minutes. The project will start from Turbhe and head to Kharghar via Juinagar, bypassing areas that motorists usually have to take via Sion-Panvel Highway, Thane-Belapur Road and Palm Beach Road. The project is expected to be completed in three years and will bolster east-west connectivity within Navi Mumbai and other regions of the MMR area.

NAVI MUMBAI: In order to solve the heavy traffic congestion on the Sion-Panvel highway, the state has planned a ₹2,195 crore worth Kharghar-Turbhe Link Road (KTLR) project which will cut travel time by around 30 minutes for motorists from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai.

HT Image

The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) has been appointed as the nodal agency by the state to implement the project which is expected to be ready in 3 years.

KTLR will start from Turbhe and head to Kharghar via Juinagar cutting through the hills and will enable motorists from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai to reach Kharghar directly, bypassing other areas that the motorists now have to take via Sion-Panvel Highway, Thane-Belapur Road and Palm Beach Road.

The KTLR project is aimed at bolstering east-west connectivity within Navi Mumbai and other regions of the MMR area. It envisages constructing a tunnel through the hill that separates the two nodes.

CIDCO has budgeted ₹2 crore for the financial year 2023-24 to fuel the commencement of the project. The Detailed Project Report has already been prepared by MSRDC and CIDCO will conduct its peer review.

Speaking on the steps being taken to start the project, CIDCO vice-chairman and managing director Sanjay Mukherjee said, “In keeping with its unflinching dedication to quality and adherence to all regulatory protocols, CIDCO has undertaken a number of critical steps in order to secure forest clearance for the KTLR project. These steps have been taken with the utmost care and diligence, with a view to ensuring complete and unwavering compliance with all applicable statutory clearances.”

He added, “The initiation of the actual work will be subject to the receipt of all the necessary statutory clearances, including forest permissions, land acquisition, and resettlement and rehabilitation.”

Speaking on the significance of the project, Mukherjee explained, “Apart from connecting the two areas of Navi Mumbai, KTLR will have elevated or grade-level approaches for direct connectivity between Turbhe and the proposed International Corporate Park located at Kharghar. It will help provide excellent connectivity from Mumbai, MTHL and the proposed Navi Mumbai airport.”