New Bridge To Connect Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai
A proposed elevated corridor will soon be connecting Navi Mumbai and Eastern Express Highway (EEH) at Ghatkopar. This corridor will improve the connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. At present, people traveling between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai use the Vashi Bridge on Sion-Panvel Expressway or Airoli Bridge.
MMRDA has signed a MoU with Ney & Poulissen Engineer and Contractors, a Belgium-based consultancy firm, for this corridor. The firm has expertise in building bridges. It is expected to suggest the design, work out the cost and prepare the bid documents for the project. All these tasks are expected to be completed in a year.
The proposed bridge
The proposed bridge is the third bridge connecting Navi Mumbai to Mumbai. The other two bridges are the Airoli bridge and Vashi bridge (on Sion-Panvel Expressway). The new corridor is expected to expedite commute between these two regions, especially to the areas where the new International airport will be built.
The corridor will be 6.48 km long, out of which about 2.33 km will be the part above water. The entire corridor will be on stilts. This is because the bridge will pass over mangroves. It is yet to be decided if the bridge will have four lanes or six lanes. The corridor will start at Ghatkopar (Mumbai) on the Eastern Express Highway and end at Palm Beach Road extension near Koparkhairane (Navi Mumbai). The corridor is expected to save at least an hour of the travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Effect on real estate
The proposed corridor will not only shorten the travel time between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai, but will also help in decongesting the other two bridges. The bridge will provide better connectivity to South Mumbai which is the business hub through EEH, as well as areas near the New International Airport in Navi Mumbai.
As such, the real estate prices in adjoining areas of Ghatkopar East, Govandi and Vikhroli can be expected to further go up. The present property prices in Ghatkopar East are approximately Rs. 15,700 per sq.ft. Property prices in Govandi are approximately Rs. 13,800 per sq.ft and approximately Rs. 13,700 in Vikhroli.
