Plans afoot to revive Thane creek bridge

The Thane creek bridge project at Vashi has been revived once again, with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) planning to construct it in years to come.

The corporation has floated bids to construct two new bridges to connect the island city of Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. "The scope of work will broadly include the construction of two creek bridges comprising three lanes each on either side of the existing (operational) bridge," said an MSRDC official.

Though the estimated cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 590 crore, the actual cost is most likely to vary. The MSRDC will get the bridge constructed on a cash-contract basis, for which it is already in the process to raise debt.

According to details, the bridge will be 1.84 km long, with plans to construct an additional approach road extending 1.31 kilometres.

The bidding process is likely to end by April-May and ground work may commence from October-November in 2017. According to the schedule, it should take three years for the new bridge to be completed. The firm constructing it will have to maintain the structure for a decade, under the defect liability period. In 1997, the 3+3-lane bridge, presently in operation, was opened for motorists by shutting the earlier narrow structure.

However, over a period of a few years, traffic has increased exponentially, resulting in the need for newer structures. This apart, the toll plaza at Vashi is another bottleneck that has given vehicle owners nightmares, resulting in long traffic snarls.

The Sion-Panvel Highway, too, has been widened into a 10-lane highway. For years now, there has been a plan to construct a bridge parallel to the existing one, but due to a lack of political will and financial resources, it hasn't been implemented.