Mumbai, Sep 12 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said the coastal road is a game-changer and it will be extended in the future to Bhayander, Virar and Palghar, which would benefit the mega Vadhvan port, the foundation stone of which was recently laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shinde, along with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other cabinet colleagues, inaugurated the coastal road connector after inspecting the stretch that connects the Marine Line-Worli coastal road and the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL). During the inspection, Fadnavis drove the car with Shinde seated beside him. The stretch will opened to the public on Friday. It can be used from 7am to 11pm, as per the BMC.
With the inauguration of the connector, which links the coastal road to the BWSL, motorists can reach Marine Drive in south Mumbai from Bandra in the western part of the metropolis in 10 minutes from the current 45 minutes, Shinde told reporters.
"It will save time and fuel as well as reduce pollution. The coastal road is a gamechanger. It is being extended to Versova and in the future it will be extended to Bhayander, Virar and Palghar. Vadhvan Port, which will be among the top 10 ports in the world, will also be benefitted due to the coastal road (when it is extended till Palghar)," Shinde informed.
The distance between Marine Drive and Versova will be covered in just 40-50 minutes, down from the present 2-3 hours once the extension is complete, Shinde said.
He hailed Fadnavis for getting all permissions required for the arterial road's speedy construction, but pointed out the latter was not invited to the ground-breaking ceremony held under the MVA government, when Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister.
Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis said the coastal road plan was under discussion for about 25 years, with chief ministers returning empty handed from Delhi (Centre).
However, once the Modi government came to power, all permissions were given after five meetings were held in connection with the project in one-and-half years, Fadnavis pointed out.
The MMRDA and MSRDC were ready to build the coastal road but BMC was asked to helm the project on the insistence of the (undivided) Shiv Sena (which ruled the civic body at the time), the senior BJP leader said.
The coastal road project floundered during the Uddhav Thackeray government but regained momentum after Shinde became CM, Fadnavis claimed.
"The coastal road got built only because of the Modi government at the Centre and the Mahayuti dispensation here. Some 90 per cent of the coastal road is complete. The remaining 10 per cent will be finished soon," he informed.
The Worli to Marine Drive stretch of the coastal road was inaugurated on March 11 this year, after which the northbound carriageway was commissioned up to Haji Ali on June 10.
On July 11, the stretch from Haji Ali to Worli was thrown open to traffic. The connector is, therefore, the fourth phase of the project.
The coastal road, built at a cost of around Rs 14,000 crore, allows motorists to reach Marine Drive to Worli in less than 15 minutes. Work on the ambitious 10.58 kilometre road began on October 13, 2018.