Mumbai is poised for a transformation over the next nine months, with the opening of the Metro 3 underground line leading the way, a development that will relieve pressure on the city’s congested roads and overburdened suburban railways.
Alongside, the Navi Mumbai airport’s first terminal is set to partially resolve the city’s airport woes, and the completion of the missing link on the Mumbai-Pune Eway will significantly reduce travel time between the two cities.
Projects set to open by year-end
New Vashi Creek Bridge – September
The six-lane bridge, with three lanes on either side of the existing bridge, will expand the total bridge capacity to 12 lanes, matching that of Sion-Panvel Highway.
Benefit: Traffic bottlenecks caused by the currently narrow bridge are expected to disappear.
Samruddhi Mahamarg – October
624km from Igatpuri to Nagpur operational. Work on final 76 km of Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway near completion. Samruddhi Mahamarg will halve road travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur to just 8 hours.
Metro 3, Phase I – October
Set to open from Aarey-BKC, featuring 10 stations
Stations: Aarey Colony, Seepz, MIDC, Marol Naka, T2 (international airport), Sahar Road, T1 (domestic airport), Santacruz, Vidyanagar, BKC.
SCLR Extension – October
The Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) extension is a key infrastructure project designed to enhance east-west connectivity. The ongoing construction of a cable-stayed bridge will connect the extension to Vakola Junction on WEH.
Full Coastal Road – December
The construction of the northward arm of Coastal Road’s connector with Bandra-Worli Sea Link will bring the project to conclusion, ensuring two-way, signal-free traffic between Marine Drive and T2 via Bandra.
Slated to open in 2025
New Vashi Creek Bridge, full opening – February
The south-bound bridge is expected to be completed by February 2025. Additionally, the new toll booth and administrative building are operational, with road patchwork on both sides almost finished.
Navi Mumbai International Airport – March
Status: Ground-based navigation S instruments that help an aircraft carry out safe descent onto the runway centreline have already been commissioned.
Phase 1: Will feature a single runway and a terminal with an annual capacity of handling 2 crore passengers.
Metro 3, Phase II – May
The opening of the Dharavi-Cuffe T Parade section will mark full operations of the corridor.
Stations: Dharavi, Shitaladevi Temple, Dadar, Siddhivinayak Temple, Worli, Acharya Atre Chowk, Nehru Science Museum, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai Central, Grant Road, Girgaum, Kalbadevi, CSMT, Hutatma Chowk, Churchgate, Vidhan Bhavan, Cuffe Parade.
Eway Missing Link – June
The project will save motorists about 30 minutes between Mumbai and Pune.
Features: Two cable-stayed bridges totaling 650 metres, and two tun- nels, one spanning 9 km.
Record: World’s widest twin tunnels, at 47 metres.
