New flyover linking SoBo to T2 airport will open on Feb 15; expect to ease traffic

A new flyover connecting Mumbai Airport to south Mumbai is expected to be ready by February 15, helping motorists bypass heavy traffic.

Mumbai: Commuting from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to south Mumbai is likely to smoothen in a week. The flyover connecting Terminal 2 (T2) of the international airport via the Sahar Elevated Road over the Western Express Highway (WEH), is expected to be ready by February 15.

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The 790-metre-long flyover will help motorists bypass the perennially choc-o-bloc Vile Parle traffic signal outside the domestic terminal on WEH. “This flyover on Western Express Highway flyover is almost complete barring a few miscellaneous works. We are anticipating that it will be opened by February 15,” said an official from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

Sources said it’s not clear when the elevated road will be open for motorists. Later this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate some infrastructure projects in Mumbai that also includes the Coastal Road. However, it remains to be seen if the elevated flyover will be one of them. The construction of the flyover began in June 2021 at a provisional cost of ₹48.43 crore.

At present, motorists getting out of Terminal 2 and going towards Bandra or south Mumbai via the Sahar Elevated Access Road get stuck in traffic for hours on the WEH near the domestic airport signal. Due to the nature of the flyover’s alignment, MMRDA had adopted an inverted T-arrangement on the steel portal beams for raising the girders. This had not only provided temporary support in the middle but also ensured traffic movement. MMRDA officials said the inverted T arrangement is a unique construction technique for launching steel girders. M Thakkar, a regular commuter and Dahisar resident, said. “This flyover could certainly help as we will skip the traffic at the domestic terminal traffic junction which at times takes 5-10 minutes.”

Cost of the flyover: ₹48.43 crore

Length: 790 metres

Work started: June 2021

Expected to open: February 15