Your drive to Matheran to get smoother

The MMRDA invites tenders to appoint a Project Management Consultant to oversee repairs on the Nerul-Dasturi stretch

The work of repairing and relaying the road between Nerul and Dasturi, which leads to the hill station, Matheran, will begin soon, as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has invited tenders for the appointment of a Project Management Consultant, who could monitor the Rs 25-crore project. The MMRDA plans to repair the 7 km-long stretch and install road signs and reflectors.

MMRDA Joint Project Director, Dilip Kawatkar said, “We have invited tenders for the appointment of a Project Management Consultant for the construction and repair of the Nerul-Dasturi road to Matheran. The work of the project will start soon after the PMC’s appointment.”

Currently, the road between Nerul and Dasturi Naka is not in good shape, and drivers find it precarious to drive along the stretch due to the sharp turns in the ghats. The stretch is also accident-prone. The MMRDA will repair the road using bitumen and increase the height of the safety wall along the stretch. It does not, however, plan to widen the road yet. At present, the road lacks lane marking, adequate signage and reflectors.

Many travellers heading from the city to Matheran prefer taking the 45-minute road journey, as the toy train between Nerul and Matheran takes almost two hours.

The MMRDA earlier had plans to build a R100-crore funicular railway on the stretch which was scrapped after it came to light the Public Works Department (PWD) had plans of building a ropeway along the same route.

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