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Follow UsChief minister Eknath Shinde, on Monday, inaugurated the Panvel-bound arm of the ambitious Shil Phata flyover project on the Old Mumbai Pune Highway (NH-48).
The Mumbra Panvel highway is a crucial connector linking North Western Mumbai suburbs like Borivli, Vasai-Virar, Gujarat, Thane with Navi Mumbai, JNPT, Konkan, Pune and even south India.
Local residents and frequent commuters have welcomed the project saying it will end the menace of waiting for several minutes at the Shil junction.
The Thane-bound arm will be inaugurated in the next few months, officials informed.
The stretch not just sees heavy freight carrying traffic but also domestic vehicles that use the stretch to cross over to neighbouring Kalyan-Dombivli and Badlapur suburbs.
The area is likely to witness more traffic in the coming years thanks to a spate of residential complex constructions and developmental works including a bullet train station coming up in the vicinity.
The opening up of the three-lane Panvel-bound arm will ensure faster travel time towards Navi Mumbai, Pune and Konkan from Mumbai and Thane as vehicles will no longer have to endure waiting time at the congested Shil Phata junction thereby saving crucial minutes in their journey.
An average waiting time at the junction was anywhere between 10-20 minutes, complained regulars.
The Rs 45.68 crore worth project constitutes of a dual carriageway, with each arm having three lanes adding up to a width of 12 metres.
One arm of the dual carriageway will serve Panvel bound traffic while the other will ferry traffic towards Thane.
The 24m wide flyover is 739.5 metres long and has a 300 metre viaduct for vehicle crossing over to and from Mahape.
While Shinde said the flyover will ease the transport infrastructure in the metropolitan region, Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, IAS, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA said the flyover will ensure less time taken to cross the stretch which means reduction in fuel consumption and ensuring traffic decongestion.