Apurva Bhatt

 

The entire stretch of the Eastern Freeway from Orange Gate in south Mumbai till Ghatkopar in north east Mumbai will be thrown open to public on Monday. Commuters can now reach south Mumbai in fifteen to twenty minutes from Ghatkopar, via the ramp on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road, making the Freeway the longest such dedicated corridor in the country. 

 

The 16.59 km route can be covered in 25 minutes, cutting down on travel time by almost 50 minutes. Normally, it takes around ninety to one and twenty minutes to cover the stretch by road, depending on traffic."The last 3 km portion of the Freeway from Chembur to Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road is now ready and will be thrown open to public on Monday afternoon,” says a MMRDA official. The first stretch of the Freeway—9.29 km of elevated corridor from Orange Gate to Anik and 4.3 km ground-level stretch till ShivajiChowk in Chembur—was opened in June 2013. The official further said, "We have undertaken several measures such as improving the condition at the Panjrapole junction in Chembur so that the waiting time at the signal can be reduced. We plan to shorten the radius of the rotary island at the signal to provide more road space." The entire project cost Rs 1,463 crore. 

 

Besides the 3-km stretch, the second tunnel, meant for vehicles bound for south Mumbai, will also be opened. "The work on the second tunnel is complete. But the road surface there is being improved and so, the entire width is not temporarily available to traffic," the official added. Diversion of vehicles to the Freeway has already eased snarl on Dr Ambedkar Marg, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg, MbPT road and the Eastern Express Highway. The opening of the last phase will help further reduce congestion on Dr Ambedkar road. Around 50% fuel consumption and that in the levels of harmful emissions and noise are also likely to go down. 

 

While justifying the delay of the last stretch, officials claimed that MMRDA had to rehabilitate 495 families. Rehabilitating them, land acquisition and hurdles faced by the presence of transformers and pumping stations on this particular route pushed back the deadline, an official said.