Mumbai’s ambitious Goregaon–Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, aimed at significantly improving east–west connectivity across the city, is now expected to be completed only by 2028 due to delays in key construction components.
A major element of Phase III of the project involves the construction of a 13-metre-diameter tunnel passing beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Colony, making it one of the most technically complex parts of the project.
According to a report by Loksatta, work on the flyover segment has progressed to about 48 per cent, while tunnel excavation has reached roughly 18 per cent so far.
The planned corridor will also integrate with the proposed Versova–Dahisar Coastal Road, forming part of a broader transport network intended to improve connectivity between South Mumbai, the western suburbs and the eastern corridor, including Thane. With both projects moving forward simultaneously, the combined completion timeline is currently projected to extend until July 2029.
The delays have also drawn attention from civic authorities. Earlier, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had targeted completion of the flyover stretch between Dindoshi Court and Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari before the monsoon, with plans to open it to the public by May 31, 2026.
However, slower-than-expected progress has prompted the civic body to levy a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on the contractor responsible for the work.
Once finished, the 12.20-kilometre road corridor will connect the Western Express Highway at Goregaon with the Eastern Express Highway at Mulund, creating a direct east–west route across the city.
The BMC estimates that the new link road could dramatically reduce travel time between the two points—from nearly 90 minutes at present to approximately 20 minutes—helping ease congestion on existing arterial roads.
Planned in four phases, the GMLR project includes an elevated circular road, a large flyover and a twin-tube underground tunnel, making it one of Mumbai’s most complex and challenging infrastructure developments currently underway.
Source: Swarajya
