MMRDA gets salt pan land for Vasai-Bhayander Bridge

The bridge will run parallel to this railway bridge over the Vasai creek. File pic/Satej Shinde

In an important update, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) recently got a major breakthrough in the Vasai-Bhayander Creek Bridge project, as it has received a land parcel of 9.86 hectares for this 6-lane bridge, from the Salt Commissioner's office.

Confirming the same, MMRDA tweeted, "A major breakthrough in the Vasai-Bhayander Creek Bridge project! MMRDA has received a land parcel of 9.86 hectares for this six-lane bridge. We thank the Government of India, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and the Salt Commissioner for granting this land."

Adding further, the agency tweeted, "We understand the importance of this bridge for the residents of Virar, Bhayander & the surrounding areas. That is why MMRDA has committed to fast-track this project which will reduce the travel time between Vasai & Bhayander by around 45 minutes upon its completion!"

The 4.98 KM long bridge will connect Bhayander west and Vasai West. The 3+3 lanes bridge will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 1,000 crore. The bridge will also require 3.44 hectares of mangroves area and the permission for the same from the forest department is yet to be obtained.

MMRDA has already obtained permissions from the Maharashtra Maritime Board, Inland Waterways Authority of India, Salt pan department and MCZMA.

About the bridge

The distance between Vasai west and Bhayandar west on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway is 30 km and the normal time required to cover this distance is about 45 minutes. But during peak hours it takes around 60-90 minutes. However, once operational, the new bridge will cut the distance down to 5km and the travel time to less
than 10 minutes.

The project has been in the pipeline since 2013 and at the time its cost was over Rs 300 crore. However, the plan never took off. As per the plan, the bridge will run parallel to the railway bridge passing over Bhayandar creek, and there will be exit points at Bhayandar, Naigaon and Panju.

Rs 1,000 cr
Estimated cost of the project