New bridge on Kopri creek to give Vitawa locals easy access to Thane station

After the bridge is opened, those coming from Navi Mumbai to Thane can skip Kalwa and toll plaza on Mulund-Airoli road

On Tuesday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the Thane Municipal Corporation to prepare a proposal for a new creek bridge, which will connect Navi Mumbai to Thane.

The new creek bridge will be for the light motor vehicles who want to go to Thane station or Thane city. (Praful Gangurde)

The corporation has already begun work on the third Kalwa bridge last year. After the first two old Kalwa bridges, this will be the fourth bridge over the Kalwa creek. The bridge will ease congestion in the city and give a direct connectivity for Vitawa residents to Thane railway station.

Thane civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal said, “The proposal for the bridge was submitted to the state government, who were earlier supposed to fund the project. However on Tuesday, the government asked us to prepare the proposal. The MMRDA will provide us technical assistant.”

“We will make the proposal for the bridge but we might not be able to fund the project. We might ask the government to fund it,” said Jaiswal.

After the bridge is opened, those coming from Navi Mumbai to Thane can skip the Kalwa city traffic and the toll at Mulund-Airoli road.

Shrikant Shinde, member of parliament, said, “We have already got approval for the skywalk from Vitawa to Thane
railway station over the creek. The skywalk will be for pedestrians.”

The new creek bridge will be for the light motor vehicles who want to go to Thane station or Thane city.

“The bridge will also ease the traffic in Kalwa as traffic from Vitawa and Navi Mumbai can be diverted to the bridge,” Shinde said.

MLA Jitendra Awhad said that the work was supposed to be done by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

“The estimated cost of the bridge is Rs450 crore. The state has also approved the road from Kalwa to Atmaram Patil Chowk which will cost Rs350 crore. The corporation will not be able to undertake both projects. The road will be constructed by MMRDA while the creek bridge will be constructed by the TMC,” said Ahwad.

Following the approval by the chief minister for the creek bridge, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party have rushed to claim credit for the new project.

Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad on Tuesday claimed that the work is approved due to his regular follow-ups.

Awhad said, “In the winter session last year, we had demanded the construction of the creek bridge — from Vitawa to Kopri and Kalwa to Atmara Patil Chowk Road.”

On Wednesday, Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said that he had been pushing for the bridge project for over two and half years. “I had written to the chief minister, MMRDA officials and civic commissioner,” Shinde said.