Finally Mumbai’s fastest east west link road has opened
The much-awaited Santa Cruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), which was delayed by 11 years, by breaking 11 coconuts and burning incense sticks, was finally inaugurated by the MMRDA officials recently. Due to election code of conduct politicians were missing from the inauguration, MMRDA quickly completed the ceremony and opened up the link road.
Direct connectivity between Western Express Highway (WEH) and Eastern Express Highway (EEH) via Kalina, Kurla and Tilak Nagar can be enjoyed by the motorists, and they can also save 30 minutes travel time. Earlier they used to take 45 minutes to one hour to travel from Santa Cruz to Chembur but now it will take them just 15-20 minutes.
A senior MMRDA official said, lakhs of motorists will be benefitted by The SCLR and it will also change the traffic pattern in the city. We will allow all kinds of two-wheelers, cars and heavy vehicles to ply on this six-lane link road, which has ramps for entry/exit to the busy Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, the Nehru Nagar area in Kurla (E), Amar Mahal Junction in Chembur and towards Kalina.The speed limit will be 30kmph on Amar Mahal Flyover and 60kmph on the remaining stretch. It is expected that everyday atleast two lakh motorists will use the SCLR.
The cost incurred for builing SCLR is Rs 450 crore; six-lane SCLR provides crucial east-west connectivity like the 10.6-km Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, the 7.2-km Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road and the 7.1-km Sion-Dharavi road. It consists of a 560-m-long Kurla-Kalina flyover over LBS Marg,which was inaugurated in 2012;and is a 1.8-km-long double-decker flyover above the Harbour and Main line tracks in New Tilak Nagar; and two arms—one for Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and another for Kurla Dairy.
Vashi resident Kaushik Datta said, it just took 10 minutes to travel from Chembur to Kurla/Kalina in the morning on the SCLR.But there was no smoothness on the road surface and the ride was uncomfortable too at the Amar Mahal Junction end. Also, at the Kalina-end, a cluster of garages along the road poses a bottleneck.
workers were seen giving finishing touches such as laying tiles on the pavement and doing up the shoulders of the road beneath the flyover portion at Tilak Nagar and Halav Pul, Even as the SCLR was being inaugurated. So much dust could be seen there as workers had not swept the cement from the surface, as mentioned by Amit Patil, a motorist.
Being the public holiday on the day of inauguration, lesser number of motorists was there on the SCLR in comparison to the expected, but officials believed that the numbers will increase in the coming days. Numerous motorists who used the SCLR wanted to enjoy the experience on the “fastest east-west connecting road”.
The flyovers have been well planned, The areas of Nehru Nagar, Tilak Nagar and Kurla (W),which earlier use to face blockage because of railway tracks , will now have access from east to west and vice versa thanks to these bridges.
According to the suggestion of traffic police, six-seven signals were installed. An officer alleged, “But not all the signals are functional. There will be patrolling by cops on bikes and the MMRDA will also provide wardens to assist them in keeping a vigil remove squatters and ensure motorists do not speed on the SCLR.”
The SCLR had missed 13 deadlines, Touted as the city’s most-delayed project. In terms of engineering and rehabilitation, it was one of the most challenging projects, as told by MMRDA official. A few residents had even moved court over analysis and the legal process took four years.
The laying of the girder above the tracks in Kurla was the most challenging task .The official alleged the approval of the design took a long time. The launching of the 14 girders, each weighing 140 tonne, was tough as we had only three hours at night for the work. Without affecting the rail traffic it was completed in 21 days.
Source: Times of India
Amar Mahal Junction, Amit Patil, Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road, Chembur, Eastern Express Highway, Halav Pul, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli link road, Kalina, Kaushik Datta, Kurla, Kurla-Kalina flyover, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, MMRDA, Nehru Nagar, Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road, SCLR, Sion-Dharavi road, Tilak Nagar, Western Express Highway
