On this Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde gave good news to Marine Drive to Bandra commuters by inaugurating the bow-string arch bridge. This bridge connects the Coastal Road to the Bandra-Worli Sea link. Earlier, it used to take around 1 hour to travel from Marine Drive to Bandra, but this bridge has shortened the commute to only 10 minutes. Eknath Shinde revealed the bridge is being extended to connect Versova, Bhayander, Virar, and Palghar in the future.
During the inauguration, CM Eknath Shinde said, “Earlier, vehicles used to run bumper-to-bumper on this route. But now, we will travel faster, people will save time, people will save fuel, pollution will be reduced, and it will be signal-free. When we opened this span last time, we had said that on September 15, we will open it. Today is the 12th, we did this before time, this is our commitment.”
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) senior officials shared northbound vehicles heading to Bandra from South Mumbai. They also said that the bridge work is still ongoing and that it is being partially opened. The bridge will be opened on Friday between 7 AM to 11 AM.
The bow-string arch bridge is estimated to cost around Rs 14,000 crore. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar, Chief Secretary Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gangarani were present with the CM at the inauguration.
After inaugurating the bridge, CM Shinde also promised residents that Mumbai would have completely concrete roads as part of the beautification plan. All the potholes will be filled within the next two years.