Mumbai Coastal Road to be toll-free, says CM Eknath Shinde

CM Eknath Shinde with civic chief I S Chahal and other officials

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has assured that the Worli-Nariman Point Coastal Road will be toll-free. He added that the first phase of the stretch, from Worli to Nariman Point, would be opened after January. On Sunday, Shinde and the civic chief, I S Chahal, visited the coastal road tunnel and identified spots for deep cleaning. Talking with the media, he assured that the full project will be completed by May 2024.

The 10.28-km-long phase of the Coastal Road will save time and fuel, and also reduce traffic congestion. "We have also decided to connect the western coast to Virar, which will reduce traffic on the current road and also save fuel and time," the chief minister said.

"In the coastal road tunnel from Priyadarshini Park to Girgoan Chowpatty, Saccardo ventilation technology has been used, which is a high-tech ventilation technology used even during fire incidents in tunnels," Shinde added.

The construction of the R12,271-crore Coastal Road project began in 2018 and the initial deadline was November 2023. However, as the design in one of the parts has changed following resistance from the fisher folk community of Worli Koliwada, the deadline has been pushed by six months.

Mumbai AQI better

The chief minister, meanwhile, claimed that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in many places has improved. "Deep-cleaning drives and dust mitigation guidelines are yielding results. The AQI has improved in a few places. The AQI is above 100 in places such as Bandra and we are working on reducing this figure,"
Shinde said.

10.28km
Length of Coastal Road