The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has announced that the Thane Coastal Road-1 project has completed over 50% of its elevated viaduct foundation work within eight months of commencement. According to officials, pier cap and I-girder construction is progressing swiftly along the 13.45-km, six-lane, access-controlled greenfield corridor.
The project is being built using advanced engineering solutions, including the deployment of a single-pile, single-pier system with monopile foundations on land — a first for a greenfield road project in India. Envisioned as a dedicated freight corridor, the road aims to ease congestion on Ghodbunder Road and improve connectivity between NH-160 (Mumbai-Nashik Highway) and Gaimukh along the Thane Creek coastline. Significant portions of the alignment are being developed on viaducts and bridges to safeguard the region’s sensitive mangrove ecosystem.
At Gaimukh, the corridor will seamlessly link to the upcoming Gaimukh-Fountain Hotel Tunnel, enhancing connectivity between Thane and Bhayander. Authorities expect the combined impact of these projects to reduce traffic pressure on Ghodbunder Road, boost urban mobility, and facilitate smoother freight movement towards Vadhawan Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, South Maharashtra and Karnataka. The corridor will also integrate with infrastructure initiatives such as the Thane Ring Metro, Thane Coastal Road-2, the Saket-Amane Elevated Corridor and the Kasarvadavali-Kharbhav Road.
Meanwhile, Thane-based environmentalist Rohit Joshi has served a legal notice to the Thane police commissioner over alleged debris dumping and land reclamation in a protected Coastal Regulation Zone near the Rabodi helipad. The notice has also been sent to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, the Thane district collector and the divisional forest officer of the Mangrove Cell (North Konkan).
Citing violations of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Joshi told mid-day, “The destruction of mangroves in a CRZ-I zone is a serious offence. The legal notice has been issued as repeated complaints did not translate into ground-level action.” He cautioned that continued wetland degradation could heighten monsoon flooding risks.
Source: Mid-day
