In an effort to improve traffic management and connect major cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has planned an access-controlled route. The Navi Mumbai NH-3 via Kalyan-Badlapur will help ease intra-city traffic as also save time for the motorists.
The new route will connect major cities in MMR such as Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Dombivli, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Badlapur to the highway and will take just 10-15 minutes for the people to exit Kalyan city. While the eastern part of the city will be connected to the access-controlled route, the western part will be linked to the multimodal corridor.
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Detailed discussions about the planning and construction of this route were held between Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde, MMRDA Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee and other officials recently wherein Shinde gave specific instructions for speedy implementation of this route. The main purpose behind the meeting was to develop a strategic route to facilitate seamless and efficient connectivity between these urban areas.
“While several route options proposed by Tata Consulting Engineers were discussed in detail, the experts opined that the route from Badlapur to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) via Turbhe-Taloja-Usatne and Kharghar-Turbhe Link Road, would be a suitable option for the access-controlled route,” an MMRDA official said.
According to the discussions, the road will begin from Badlapur on the Mumbai-Vadodara National Highway and continue towards Palegaon, where the first interchange will be located. Through this interchange, residents will have direct access from Ambarnath city to the road leading towards Badlapur - Katai road.
Further along, this road will proceed eastward towards Kalyan, where another interchange will be added. This interchange is of utmost importance as it will provide direct access for vehicles to the Metro Line 12 station at Hedutane and additionally, connectivity to the under-construction Kalyan Ring Road will be available from this route which will also connect to the Kalyan-Shilphata Road.
“At Shirdhon, the route will lead to the multimodal corridor the construction of which is going on at a rapid pace. Through this corridor, vehicles will directly proceed towards the Mumbai-Pune Expressway while this multimodal corridor will also connect to the Coastal Road, making it easier to establish direct access to the Navi Mumbai International Airport,” the official said.
This route will also directly connect to the Kharghar-Turbhe Link Road, the bidding process for which has been completed and construction will commence soon. This link road will provide direct access to Navi Mumbai and subsequently to the proposed NMIA.
Benefits of the project:
· The entire route will be access-controlled and will feature greenfield sections.
· The road from Badlapur will connect to the Mumbai-Vadodara National Highway, thereby providing residents an access to the Hinduhrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg (HBTMSM).
· As a result, it will directly join the Mumbai-Agra Highway via HBTMSM, enabling easy travel towards Nashik.
· Due to this route, intra-city traffic will ease, allowing vehicles to travel outside the city. This will accelerate urban traffic flow and provide a faster option for commuting to other cities.
· After the completion of this route, vehicles from Badlapur to Dombivli will directly connect to Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Additionally, it will be easier to travel on other national highways and to other parts of the state.