Mumbai’s long-awaited Sewri-Worli Connector is expected to be completed within a year, with state authorities announcing a renewed push to fast-track the city’s most crucial infrastructure projects. The connector, seen as a vital traffic decongestion link between South and Central Mumbai, is among 33 priority developments being monitored under a high-level war room review mechanism.
The bridge will provide a direct link to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) from Worli, significantly reducing travel time across the city’s eastern and western corridors. Officials confirmed that construction of the connector, which involves demolition of the British-era Elphinstone Bridge at Parel, will now move at an expedited pace after resolving pending inter-agency issues. While addressing the media after the recent review session, senior state officials noted that 132 implementation bottlenecks were raised across the 33 projects. Of these, 63 have been resolved, and remaining issues are being streamlined through centralised coordination.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will also undertake the temporary closure of the Prabhadevi Railway Overbridge this February to facilitate connector construction and subsequent redevelopment. This move, while disruptive in the short term, is expected to smoothen cross-city mobility and provide a critical link to the MTHL. Urban mobility, particularly metro rail projects across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), has also come under scrutiny. The state has urged implementing agencies to adopt advanced technology, reduce bureaucratic delays, and set strict deadlines. Each metro corridor has now been directed to explore affordable housing at terminal stations to support last-mile connectivity and promote transit-oriented development.
In addition to the connector and metro network, the war room agenda also included projects like the redevelopment of BDD chawls, the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel, and the Orange Gate-Marine Lines tunnel. Progress on the first phase of the BDD chawl redevelopment has reached a significant milestone, with allotment of housing units expected to begin shortly. A key breakthrough involved clearing land use challenges with central agencies, particularly with the Mumbai Port Trust, enabling faster completion of the Orange Gate tunnel work. Officials have now mandated that all departments upload project updates to the war room portal, discontinuing scattered monitoring through separate platforms.
The state’s infrastructure oversight model is being restructured to enforce three-year completion targets from the date of project initiation. Departments have been instructed to resolve all deadlocks in implementation, prioritise inter-agency coordination, and seek prompt cabinet approvals where needed. As Mumbai grapples with growing transport needs, the accelerated completion of the Sewri-Worli Connector and metro corridors marks a decisive shift toward future-ready, sustainable urban mobility. While legacy challenges persist, the push for digital project tracking, deadline adherence, and inter-departmental accountability could reshape how India’s financial capital navigates its infrastructure future.
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