Devotees visiting Mahalakshmi temple in south Mumbai can soon enjoy the walkway and gardens being constructed adjacent to the coastal road. The temple’s back gate will be kept open for devotees to step out and take in the spectacular view of the sea while taking a stroll. The work on the pathway from the back gate is underway and will be completed soon, an official connected to the project shared exclusively with the Free Press Journal.
Another underpass to be given for access to Mahalakshmi temple
Under the coastal road project, 16 underpasses have been chalked out for pedestrians and one of them is at Haji Ali. The official said they have constructed an underpass below the coastal road and people are using it to reach the Haji Ali dargah. He said the project authorities will give another underpass to pedestrians for access to Mahalakshmi temple.
Officials said 73% work on the 10.5km coastal road is complete and it will connect Priyadarshini Park in Girgaon to the south side of Bandra-Worli Sea Link. It will have two carriageways of four lanes and each carriageway will have an additional lane for buses. The high point of the project is the 2.07km twin tunnel. The average speed on Mumbai’s roads ranges between 21kmph and 25kmph during peak hours. Motorists will be able to drive at an uninterrupted 80kmph on the coastal road.
Project to drastically reduce travel time
According to the BMC, the project will bring down travel time between Princess street and Bandra Worli Sea Link to less than 10 minutes, which at present takes 35-45 minutes during peak hour. The road will also reduce fuel consumption by 35%, besides bringing down noise and air pollution and reducing carbon footprint by 1826 tonne annually.
