The Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road Flyover could finally open for the general public by mid-August following a prolonged delay. This flyover will ease traffic between the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai, though it has been delayed for nearly three years.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said that around 97 per cent of the works have concluded, allowing them to open it for the public in the next few months. An official from the civic body’s Bridges Department added that a large portion of the construction is complete and that minor works like painting and asphalting are currently remaining.
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Works on this flyover originally started in 2016 with a completion deadline of January 2019. However, in February 2020, the BMC Standing Committee approved a cost increase and a deadline extension for the flyover. While it was originally meant to be constructed at ₹576 crores, the cost has since escalated to ₹713 crores.
Officials familiar with the matter said that the delay can be attributed to the construction of an additional arm for the Deonar Dumping Ground. “The arm for Deonar dumping ground is ready and will help garbage vans to reach the site seamlessly. The entire flyover will provide much relief to motorists,” another official said.
On a related note, a potential political clash has taken shape over the naming of this flyover. While BJP MP Manoj Kotak had written to the civic body in December 2020 asking the flyover to be named after Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale has now written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asking the flyover to be named after Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.
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