The Thane Coastal Road has crossed 40 per cent completion after 14 months of construction, with 501 girders erected along the planned corridor, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said on Wednesday. The project is intended to reduce congestion on Ghodbunder Road and improve connectivity between Thane, the Mumbai-Nashik Highway and Gaimukh.
According to the authority’s progress figures, 332 of the project’s 426 working piles have been completed, taking piling work to about 77 per cent. Construction teams have also completed 277 of 426 piers, or approximately 65 per cent of the planned structures, while 460 pier caps have been cast for the elevated road sections.
Girder erection has reached 501 of the planned 1,632 girders, representing about 30 per cent progress on that component. Thirteen deck-slab spans have also been completed, MMRDA said. The figures were reported as of September 2, while the progress update was issued on September 9.
Thane Coastal Road-1 is planned as a 13.45-kilometre, six-lane, access-controlled greenfield corridor connecting Kharegaon Toll Naka with Gaimukh. The project includes a 240-metre creek bridge and an 8.11-kilometre elevated road passing through areas with mangrove cover.
MMRDA said the corridor is being developed as a strategic freight route to separate local traffic from intercity movement on Ghodbunder Road. A 40-to-45-metre-wide Development Plan road has been reserved for the project. The planned connection is expected to support traffic travelling towards Thane, Nashik, Bhiwandi, Gujarat and other parts of North India.
The project authorities also said the road uses a single-pile, single-pier system with monopile foundations on land, which they described as the first application of the technique for a greenfield road project in India. The elevated design is intended to help protect the sensitive mangrove ecosystem along parts of the route.
At Gaimukh, the corridor is planned to connect directly with the upcoming Gaimukh-Fountain Hotel Tunnel. MMRDA said the two projects are expected to improve connectivity between Thane and Bhayandar and reduce pressure on Ghodbunder Road. They are also intended to support freight movement towards Wadhawan Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, South Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Thane Coastal Road-1 is expected to connect with other proposed and ongoing transport projects, including the Thane Ring Metro, Thane Coastal Road-2, the Saket-Amane Elevated Corridor and the Kasarvadavali-Kharbhav Road. The authority said construction is continuing across foundation, pier, pier-cap and superstructure works along the corridor.
