The Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP), also known as Dharmveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Highway, was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde today. Phase 1, which is the southern branch of the coastal road from Worli to Marine Drive and stretches for 9.5 km – total road length of 10.58 km – will be opened to traffic on Tuesday morning.
As the ₹ 12,721 crore project, which began construction in October 2018, is yet to be fully completed, Mumbai Police has announced that traffic will be allowed in MCRP only between 8 am and 8 pm Weeknight.Construction work will continue on weekday evenings and weekends. The northbound section is expected to open in May this year. Work on the missing 1 km stretch that will connect the coastal road with the Bandra-Worli sea link will also continue.
At the three entry points to the southern branch of the coastal highway – Worli Seaface, Haji Ali and Amarsons Garden – the one at Worli, also known as Bindu Madhav Thackeray Junction, will only be accessible from 8am to 5 p.m. There are exits to Amarsons Garden and Marine Drive, especially the Princess Street overpass; To achieve the latter, you must pass number 2.The 07 km long tunnel begins at Priyadarshini Park in Breach Candy, extends south under Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hills, and ends between the Hindu and Muslim Gymkhana.
While most of the MCRP will have a speed limit of 80 km/h, the speed in the tunnel section will be limited to 60 km/h, during when cars will have to comply with the 40 km/h speed limit at intersections. All heavy vehicles, except BEST and ST buses, will be banned from the coastal road, as will all pedestrians, two-wheelers and three-wheelers. There are also plans to create a central park covering an area of 320 acres, which will be developed along the Dharmaveer Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Highway route.
