Mumbaikars will get some respite from traffic woes as the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) has begun the work of restoring roads which were subsumed for the construction of Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro line 3. As the Metro barricades vanish, pedestrians as well as motorists will be once again able to navigate freely this monsoon.
MMRCL's plan to restore roads at 17 locations
As the construction work of the underground Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro line 3 is nearing completion, the MMRCL has prepared a plan to restore roads at 17 locations, which are en route Metro line 3. MMRCL Managing Director Ashwini Bhide said, “After completing underground station boxes and backfilling, road restoration works are in now progress at various locations, including Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Vidyanagari, Dharavi and Hutatma Chowk stations of Mumbai Metro 3. Similar works are going on at other stations as well. This is being done in a phased manner as it entails restoration of utilities as well.”
Other spots where the restoration process has been initiated include the underground Metro stations of Cuffe Parade, Vidhan Bhavan, Churchgate, CSMT, Mahalaxmi, Siddhivinayak, Santacruz, Terminal 1, Sahar, Marol Naka, MIDC and SEEPZ.
Roads to be restored by the end of May
The plan is to restore the roads at these locations by the end of May. Once the work gets completed, an area of 66,625 sq m having a cumulative length of 6.338 km will be included back to Mumbai’s roads, improving vehicular traffic flow from monsoon 2023 onwards. Post-monsoon, up to June 2024, the remaining 5.621 km of road length will be restored, after which 90,224 sq m of road and pavement space will be available for public.
Till February, Mumbai Metro 3 line was 79.8% ready; this includes 85.2% progress made in the first phase section between Aarey to the BKC and 76% completion of the second phase between the BKC and Cuffe Parade. Simultaneously, car shed work is also underway and 53.8% of construction has bee done.
The MMRCL is planning to open the underground corridor in two phases; the first phase from Sariput Nagar to the BKC will be ready by December 2023 while the remaining section up to Cuffe Parade is likely to open in July 2024.
