The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has moved ahead with the ambitious Goregaon–Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, aiming to significantly improve east–west connectivity across the city. The project includes a combination of flyovers, road expansion, and the construction of twin tunnels beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
In a major development, the civic body last month awarded the contract for the project’s final phase. This phase involves building a 1.33-km-long cable-stayed bridge that will connect Nahur and Airoli. Estimated at Rs 1,662 crore, the package also introduces cloverleaf loop interchanges between Mumbai and Thane—an infrastructure feature expected to streamline traffic flow and reduce bottlenecks along the heavily congested Eastern Express Highway.
The GMLR project has been planned in four stages, with work already progressing on the initial three. The first phase focuses on widening existing roads to accommodate increased vehicular movement. The second phase includes the construction of a flyover in the western suburbs, along with a tunnel-boring machine (TBM)-driven tunnel that will directly link Goregaon and Mulund, passing underneath the national park. The third phase involves the construction of a road overbridge (ROB) at Nahur to eliminate railway crossings and improve connectivity.
Once completed, the GMLR is expected to act as a critical east–west corridor, offering a faster alternative to current routes and easing pressure on key arterial roads. The addition of advanced engineering elements such as cable-stayed bridges and cloverleaf interchanges is expected to modernize Mumbai’s transport network while improving travel efficiency for daily commuters traveling between the eastern and western suburbs.
Source: The Indian Express
