The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has opened the first and only Vehicular Underpass (VUP) on the Mumbai Coastal Road project near JK Kapoor Chowk, close to the Worli end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The underpass runs beneath Abdul Gaffar Khan Road and is designed to facilitate smoother traffic flow from Prabhadevi and Dadar onto the Coastal Road corridor.
After the cut-and-cover segment of the underpass, traffic is divided: one lane leads towards Bandra, while the other merges with the southbound stretch of the Coastal Road. This underpass marks a significant milestone in the infrastructure project aimed at decongesting Mumbai’s western coastline.
While this is the only VUP on the 10-kilometre road, the project also includes around 16 Pedestrian Underpasses (PUPs), ensuring safe pedestrian movement from the land side to the seaside promenade and landscaped zones.
In a parallel development, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has been officially appointed to design and maintain the open spaces, gardens, and promenades along the Coastal Road. The selection follows an Expression of Interest (EOI) issued by the BMC in January, which clarified that no financial commitment would be made by the civic body, nor would the chosen company receive compensation.
RIL will submit its landscaping design to the BMC for approval. Local residents, meanwhile, are pushing for a Coastal Forest along the still-undeveloped stretches — a proposal already under civic consideration.
Source: Times of India
