However, the project is incomplete due to two primary factors —environment and Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slums in Ghatkopar —and the Eastern Freeway is unlikely to be completed as per the initial plans any time soon.
At least two bridges in the city are incomplete at the moment. They are Eastern Freeway and Jogeshwari Rail Over Bridge, and there is no definite deadline to complete both the bridges.
As per plans, Eastern Freeway's alignment was to cross Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road, followed by construction of the elevated road over the creek and mangroves thereby making it possible to take it from Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar and eventually landing at the Eastern Express Highway.
However, the project is incomplete due to two primary factors —environment and Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slums in Ghatkopar —and the Eastern Freeway is unlikely to be completed as per the initial plans any time soon.
"There is a thick vegetation of mangroves followed by a huge number of slums. There was an issue of environment clearance due to the mangroves," said a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) official.
The official admitted that touching Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slums would have resulted in shooting up the project costs on account of rehabilitation of the locals. The other issue was the slum colony being politically volatile.
On the other hand, the recently inaugurated Jogeshwari Rail Over Bridge is being extended to Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR). A senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said that the original plan under Mumbai Urban Transport Project-I was to have a bridge connecting SV Road with Western Express Highway, and it was the BMC who decided to take an arm forward to JVLR.
"The plan is to take the bridge right up to Poonam Nagar on JVLR, but uncertainty of the metro rail line (elevated or underground) on the highway has resulted in the wait till it's frozen," said a senior BMC official.
Is it only now that MMRDA has shared the final plans of the elevated Dahisar East-Andheri East metro with BMC, and thus, feasibility of the same is being looked into. Additionally, now that there are also plans to have a Jogeshwari-Kanjurmarg elevated metro, the BMC is likely to cut short the bridge by going on the second level of the existing flyover and land near SRPF Grounds Junction on JVLR.
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