Thane: The much-awaited Kalwa Khadi bridge third route was inaugurated on Sunday by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde along with the presence of ministers from Thane and Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) chief Abhijit Bangar.
During the inauguration, the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said, "Various projects are being planned to provide relief to Thanekars from internal traffic jams. The projects include a bypass, bridges, and an extension of the Eastern Freeway and the planning authorities MMRDA and Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) are working on it. I believe that all the roads in Thane will be free from traffic jams very soon."
Along with the CM, during the inauguration MP Shrikant Shinde, MLA Jitendra Awad, Ex-MLA Ravindra Phatak, Ex-Mayor Naresh Mhaske, Meenakshi Shinde, Ex-Deputy Mayor Pallavi Kadam, Gopal Landge, Sudhir Kokate, TMC chief Abhijit Bangar, Thane collector Ashok Shingare, additional commissioner Sandeep Malvi and Sanjay Herwade and city engineer Prashant Songra were present.
TMC chief Bangar welcomed the dignitaries and gave a presentation about the third Kalwa Khadu bridge and also informed them about the progress of the remaining works.
During the inauguration, Shinde announced the opening of the third route and he also announced that the next route will also be opened on December 1. He also said that the government intends to extend this bridge to Patni. The work will also start soon at Teen Hath Naka and Majiwada junction in Thane.
After the inauguration, all the dignitaries travelled over the third route Kalwa Khadi Bridge and the route was immediately opened to the public.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde on Sunday inaugurated the much awaited third route of Kalwa Khadi bridge. | FPJ
Kalwa Khadi Bridge overall details
A new bridge has been constructed over Kalwa creek to connect Thane city and Kalwa and also to reach Navi Mumbai via Thane- Belapur from Thane city. 93% work of this bridge has been completed. However, to remove the traffic congestion in this area, the route from Thane Police Commissioner's Office to Kalwa Chowk - Belapur Road is being opened for traffic.
There are a total of three bridges on Kalwa Khadu. The first bridge is of the British era and was built in 1863. In 2010, heavy vehicle traffic on it was stopped. The bridge was closed to vehicles in August 2016. It is now a Vastu Varsha (Heritage Site). The second Kalwa Khadi bridge was constructed during 1995-96. Until now, all traffic was running through it. Due to the increasing expansion of the city, traffic jams were occurring at the intersections on both sides. So this third bridge has been built. A third bridge was proposed in 2013 during the General Assembly of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and it was approved on 20 February 2014. (Resolution No - 462) and immediately the work started.
The total length of the new bridge is 2.20 km. A total of 5 lanes have been constructed for the bridge. The total project cost of this bridge is 183.66 crores. The road near Thane Jail will be ready for traffic in the month of December. The rest of the road from Saket will be ready for traffic by March 2023 and the entire bridge will be open for traffic. After the entire bridge becomes operational in March 2023, all traffic towards Kalwa, Mumbra and Belapur will be one-way over the bridge and traffic from Belapur Road Kalwa, Mumbra to Thane city will be entirely one-way over the bridge currently in use.
After the said bridge becomes available for traffic at its full capacity in March 2023, the entire problem of traffic congestion at this place will be eliminated. There are three routes to reach the bridge namely Police Commissioner's Office Route, Jail Near Route and Circular Route for vehicles coming from Saket. Kalwa Chowk and Belapur Road are two routes to get off the bridge. The bridge will also have a safe footpath for school-going students and pedestrians between Thane and Kalwa. The bridge is equipped with a state-of-the-art structural health monitor system. This will allow daily assessment of the condition of the span structure. The navigation span has been attractively illuminated with electricity which has added to the beauty of the bridge as well as the city as a whole.
