India's first double-decker flyover – one of the major showpiece projects of the Maharashtra government – will be commissioned soon, an official said here Thursday.

 

 The flyover is part of the 3.5-km Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), which is in the final stages of completion. The entire project is expected to provide another major east-west connectivity to Mumbaikars, said an official of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

 

 The SCLR will ease traffic snarls at Chembur, Vakola, Sion and Kurla suburbs besides decongesting the Western Express and Eastern Express highways which cut through the city.

 

 "The SCLR will mean huge time saving for commuters. Now they can travel from Santacruz to Chembur in barely 20 minutes, compared to nearly 90 minutes currently during peak hours," the official said.

 

 Commuters can take the Vakola Junction Road, near Santacruz, for accessing the upper level of the double-decker flyover to reach the Eastern Express Highway. From the lower level, commuters can access Kurla and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.

 

 The SCLR with six lanes will carry more than 80,000 vehicles daily, while the upper and lower levels of the double-decker flyover provide four lanes for the up and down traffic.

 

 There are also footpaths on the lower level to enable people to walk over from Kurla station to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. The MMRDA overcame many hurdles, including court cases, resettlement and rehabilitation issues and encroachments, to finally complete the SCLR.

 

 Over the past few years, it managed to rehabilitate more than 3,500 affected families from residential, commercial and religious structures which fell in the path of the SCLR.