Three new flyovers in Mumbai to open today, Fadnavis to inaugurate them

An important step has been taken towards reducing traffic jams in Mumbai city and its suburbs. Three new flyovers, at Sion, at Vidyavihar and on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, open to Mumbaikars on Thursday, October 22.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate all three bridges. Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar will be present as special guests. Mayor Ritu Tawade will preside over the event.

The bridges are expected to help traffic move more easily on key roads of Mumbai. The projects are seen as important in reducing obstructions caused by railway lines, the lack of routes linking the east and the west, and jams at crowded junctions.

The British-era bridge near Sion railway station was about 112 years old and had been declared unsafe. A new bridge was then built there. The old bridge was a major obstacle to extending the fifth and sixth rail lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Kurla on the Central Railway. The new bridge will remove this obstacle.

A deadline of February 2027 had been set for this bridge. According to the information available, the work was completed about four months ahead of that deadline. The entire cost of the project was borne by the Railways. This will bring relief to road traffic in the area and also help the expansion of railway infrastructure.

The Vidyavihar flyover directly connects Ramchandra Chemburkar Marg in the east with Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in the west. It will make travel between the east and the west easier. At present, it takes about 30 minutes to get from Vidyavihar to Ghatkopar. With the new bridge, this is expected to fall to about 10 minutes. This will save motorists time and may also save fuel. Vehicle congestion on the Ghatkopar flyover will also ease.

The third bridge has been built under the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, near the Ratnagiri Hotel junction in Goregaon East. The 1.26-km flyover connects General Arunkumar Vaidya Marg with Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari Marg in the Santosh Nagar area. Jams are frequent in Goregaon East, around the Dindoshi court area and near Chitranagari. The new bridge is expected to make vehicle movement easier here, especially during office hours and peak hours.

Vehicles are increasing in Mumbai while roads are limited, so traffic jams have become a major problem. In this situation, the three flyovers will be important. The aim of the projects is to improve east-west connectivity, cut travel time and reduce the pressure of vehicles on main roads. However, how much the congestion actually falls will depend on the traffic plans for these routes and the number of vehicles. All eyes are on how much relief Mumbaikars get once the bridges open.