This year promises road, rail and trans-harbour bridges, connectors, railway lines and metros, together holding out hope of reducing a few sighs from the harried Mumbaikar’s life
Representation Pic
By Rajendra B. Aklekar, Ranjeet Jadhav Prajakta Kasale, Dipti Singh, Sameer Surve and Eshan Kalyanikar
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Mumbai Trans Harbour Link
Motorists will be soon able to travel on the 22-km-long Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva, the longest sea bridge in the country. MMRDA)sources said 97 per cent work on this project is complete and finishing touches will be completed soon. MMRDA has recommended a one-way toll of Rs 500 while the state government has proposed one of Rs 350. CM Eknath Shinde will take a final decision on this. The 21.8-kilometre six-lane bridge has three interchanges, at Sewri in south Mumbai, connecting the MTHL to the Eastern Freeway; at Shivaji Nagar in Ulwe, connecting the MTHL to Navi Mumbai Coastal Road and the third at Chirle interchange — where one arm will connect the State Highway-54, the other will connect to NH4.
Port Line-Uran railway
The Port Line (Belapur-Seawood-Uran Railway) will be the newest addition to Mumbai’s railway network in 2024. The Belapur-Seawood-Uran Railway Project will improve accessibility to the central part of Navi Mumbai. These areas are places where development has been planned. The rail line will greatly benefit commuters.
Elevated Vakola connector
Motorists travelling via the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) towards Andheri on the Western Express Highway will no longer have to stop at the Vakola signal as the elevated connector—India’s first sharp curvature span with an orthotropic steel deck supported by stayed cables—is nearing completion. At present, vehicles heading from the SCLR towards the Vakola junction get stuck in traffic due to the signal and the ongoing construction of the connector. The work on MMRDA’s 215-metre-long cable-stayed bridge is in progress. The bridge will complement east-west travel and provide faster connectivity to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The bridge will also provide connectivity from Vakola nullah to Panbai International School on WEH. The cable-stayed bridge on the SCLR will have a width of 10.5 metres and a 7.5-m-widecarriageway.
Mumbai Metro Yellow Line 2B
The Mumbai Metro Yellow Line 2B, running from D N Nagar to Mandale, is a 23.643-km-long elevated corridor with 20 stations. The stretch ends between Mankhurd and Chembur. Five of its stations may open in 2024.
Vikhroli rail overbridge
This project, which began in 2018, is supposed to be completed by the end of the year. The work should have been completed by the end of 2022, but the deadline was extended. The bridge will not only benefit commuters but also fire brigade and ambulances. Vikhroli East and West lack a fire station and public hospital respectively. The cost of the project increased from R40.77 crore to R88.75 crore over the years.
E shalas coming
In 2024, over 5,000 schools in Maharashtra will transform into ‘E-shalas.’ In a bid to bridge the social and digital divide in education, the Maharashtra government earlier this year launched the Majhi e-Shala mission in all government schools in rural areas. By 2024-25, the education department plans to transform 5,000-plus schools and digitise 10,000 classrooms across the state. The Samagra Shiksha and Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad (MPSP) have collaborated with Pratham InfoTech Foundation to make the mission a success. According to MPSP, more than five lakh students are estimated to benefit from this initiative.
New wards at KEM Hospital
Renovation work on six wards at KEM Hospital commenced in August 2023 following Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s visit. These wards had been closed for a year, and it was only in 2023 that the hospital borrowed space at Sewri’s TB Hospital and began relocating some of its patients. Two out of the six wards are expected to be operational by March 2024 on a priority basis, while the remaining wards may take up to 18 months.
Deonar waste-to-energy project
The civic body came up with the project in 2014, and after tendering, re-tendering and restructuring of ideas, it finally awarded a contract to process 600 tonnes of garbage and generate 4 MW of electricity daily. While projects that generate less than 15 MW of energy do not require environmental clearance, this project required one as the ash left after generating energy will be landfilled in Deonar itself. But thelarge mountains of garbage will take a few years to clear. Established in 1927, the Deonar dumping ground is spread across 120 hectares. Out of the 7,000 metric tonnes of garbage generated daily in the city, nearly 700 metric tonnes are dumped in Deonar.
Vidyavihar East-West connector
This project is expected to be completed before the monsoon. The BMC launched the first girder of the bridge in May 2023 while the second one was launched in November. The bridge was envisaged in the 1991 development plan.
Sion rail overbridge
The British-era bridge will be pulled down and reconstructed to build the 5th and 6th railway lines. The BMC and Railways are jointly carrying out the work. The actual cost of constructing a new 400-m bridge, including a 99-m girder, was Rs 99.98 crore. It rose to R108 crore after the Railways made some design changes. Now, the BMC has decided to increase the length of the bridge to 613 m and the girder to 120 m, causing the cost to rise to Rs 178.93 crore. The project was commissioned in March 2018.
Coastal Road
Coastal Road-related construction work began in 2018 and the project was supposed to be opened to the public by November 2023. But the work got delayed and now plans are afoot to open one arm for southbound traffic by mid-February. The entire project is expected to be completed by May 2024. The 10.58-km Coastal Road is being constructed from the Princess Street flyover to the southern end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The 17.7-km-long Versova-Bandra Sea Link (VBSL) part of the project could be finished by 2026. Its estimated cost is Rs 11,332.82 crore. The BMC has appointed a consultant for the 24-km Versova-Dahisar corridor of the Coastal Road. Its estimated cost is Rs 16,000 crore. BMC has also started building the Dahisar-Bhayander Link Road, an elevated 5-km structure at a cost of R4,027 crore. The road could be completed by 2027.
Mumbai Metro Pink Line 6
The Mumbai Metro Pink Line-6, between Swami Samarth Nagar and Vikhroli, is being constructed as an east-west connectivity line. The 15.31-km line passes through Jogeshwari, WEH, and Powai. It has 13 stations and most of the alignment passes on the median of Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road. As per the Maharashtra government’s State Economic Survey, the project is about 63 per cent complete and is expected to be completed by December 2024.
Electric bakery policy in 2024
In 2024, the Health Department is expected to introduce a policy that will mandate wood-burning bakeries in the city to transition to clean fuel or electricity. Many of these bakeries are extremely old and contribute to air pollution, particularly in the winter months. The residents in the surrounding areas bear the brunt of this pollution, as the smoke from the chimneys enters their homes.
Rani Baug expansion
The introduction of lions to Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, also known as Rani Baug, under BMC’s expansion plan is expected to take place. Jimmy, the sole lioness in the zoo, died in December 2014. She was born in the zoo in March 1998 to an African lion Amar and an Asiatic lioness Anita.
Goregaon-Borivli rail lines
The fifth and sixth lines between Goregaon and Borivli are slated to be ready by June 2024. WR has been working on the new lines between Borivli and Bandra stations to boost capacity. The Bandra-Goregaon section was opened in November 2023. “This project will enhance the line capacity of Mumbai suburban section, will help ease the congestion, improve punctuality and help add more train services,” a WR official said.
Mumbai Metro Red Line 9
The Mumbai Metro Line 9 is an extension of Line 7 from Dahisar to Mira-Bhayandar. This 10.58-km line has eight stations and will connect Mumbai with Mira-Bhayandar and decongest the entrance to the city at the Dahisar toll naka. Phase 1 includes Dahisar East to Kashigaon and Phase 2 includes Kashigaon to Subhash Chandra Bose Stadium. Phase 1 of Line 9 may be complete in 2024.
Gokhale bridge
The BMC successfully launched the first girder of the east-west connector in Andheri in December last year. Two lanes of the bridge will be completed by February 2024 while the entire structure will be ready before the monsoon. The BMC and Railways decided to reconstruct the bridge after part of it collapsed on July 3, 2018. It was shut in November 2022.
Underground Mumbai Metro
Mumbai’s first underground Metro Aqua Line 3 is expected to be commissioned in 2024. While substantial work on Phase 1 between Aarey and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) was completed in December 2023, the line will be subjected to extensive trials and testing. It is likely to be opened in early 2024. Work on Phase 2 between BKC and Colaba has been expedited and it should be completed in 2024 too. An official connected with the 33.5-km line said, “Many stations on Phase 2, like Girgaon, Kalbadevi, Prabhadevi, and Dadar, are in extremely crowded areas. We had to undertake innovative digging and building alternatives like the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) technology, where excavation is done with supports.”
Travel on India’s widest, longest road tunnel
Citizens will get to travel on India’s widest and longest road tunnel passing through Kasara ghat. The 7.78-km-long twin tunnel is being built under Package 14 of the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg project. It is equipped with mist technology for firefighting. Package 14 has been handed over to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The 13.1-km-long Package-14 connects Pimpri Sadroddin in Nashik with Vashala Budruk in Thane. The twin tunnel, wherein two tunnels run parallelly, will have three lanes. The tunnel is of three types — shaded, cut and cover, and main bored twin tunnel. Equipped with an inclined shaft for escape, the tunnel was made using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) technology.
2024 is going to be a Maha poll-er coaster ride!
The general and Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in May and October respectively. If the Supreme Court allows local body polls to be held this year, 24 cities—including Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune—can go to the polls. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Thane Municipal Corporation are currently functioning under administrators while the Navi Mumbai civic body’s operations have been overseen by one since 2020.
BMC polls, too
The corporators’ term ended in March 2022. Currently, a case is pending with the Supreme Court regarding delimitation of wards and the OBC category for political reservation in civic polls. There is a possibility that for the first time, two Shiv Senas will oppose each other and one NCP faction will contest an election with BJP. For the first time, 10 main political parties will contest the civic polls. Two factions of Shiv Sena, two factions of NCP, the BJP, Congress, MNS, MIM and AAP are the main parties that will contest. There is a possibility that a Sena faction will ally with the Congress and one NCP faction.
Will Eknath Shinde MLAs be disqualified
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (right) with deputy CMs NCP’s Ajit Pawar (left) and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis (centre)
SC has granted an extension until January 10 for Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide on disqualification petitions, including those of CM Eknath Shinde and other MLAs. The requests were filed by the Uddhav Thackeray Sena faction and the Sharad Pawar bloc of the NCP. The court emphasised that the Maharashtra speaker is responsible for making the ultimate decision on the disqualification pleas concerning Eknath Shinde’s camp and the chief minister himself.
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