With Metro corridors being constructed to decongest the suburban local trains, the proposed coastal road between Priyadarshini Park and Kandivli — including Mumbai’s second sea link, between Bandra and Versova — will give motorists an option to travel from one corner of the city to another using their vehicles.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is executing the construction of the coastal road and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is executing the sea link between Bandra and Versova.

The Bandra Versova Sea Link (BVSL) is part of the coastal road that the BMC is constructing (the portion between Bandra and Versova will be in the form of a 9.5-km long sea link).

The sea-link project was decided on following opposition from Juhu residents over a proposed tunnel road, as part of the coastal road, beneath the beach, which they claim would destroy its beauty.

The proposal of a coastal road has been mired in controversy over obtaining approvals from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).

Both these links are expected to bring down the number of vehicles plying on the Western Express Highway (WEH), and on Link Road and SV Road.

The coastal road will have 22 entry and exit points, and is proposed to be built as a combination of under-sea tunnels, roads on stilts and viaducts, and roads on land reclaimed from the sea and mangroves. The project is expected to cost Rs 12,000 crore, and will require reclamation of about 160 hectares from the sea and mangroves.

However, several environmentalists have opposed the project, citing the adverse effects of reclamation in the past, which altered the city’s coastline, changed sea levels and tidal currents, and caused erosion of beaches.

It was also alleged that the BMC is reclaiming land to facilitate its real estate interests. The BMC, however, has said that it has given the MoEF a written assurance that it will not give the land up for real estate purposes.Meanwhile, work on the sea link is expected to start by the end of this year.