Mumbai Coastal Road project to partly open for travel from Monday after inauguration

The Mumbai Coastal Road project (MCRP) - which has been named after legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj - would be commissioned on Monday.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is executing the ambitious Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Motorway - and part would be opened for travel from Monday onwards. 

The inauguration dates have been changed at least a couple of times in the past - leading to criticism from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Maha Yuti government, would inaugurate the road in presence of Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

The inauguration takes place in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Coinciding with the birth anniversary celebrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on February 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the project, however, the visit was later cancelled. 

Shinde and his two deputies were then scheduled to inaugurate the road on March 9, however, it too was postponed to March 11. 

It may be recalled, Shinde has been personally reviewing the progress of the implementation of the project with BMC’s Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Dr Iqbal Singh Chahal and the MCRP team.

The MRCP is an engineering marvel and one of the most ambitious projects aimed at easing the traffic in the financial capital of the country.

The MCRP would be a toll-free motorway.

The MCRP - built at an estimated cost of around Rs 13,000 crore -  is an under-construction 8-lane, 29.2-km long grade-separated expressway that runs along Mumbai's western coastline connecting Marine Lines in the South to Kandivali in the North.

Its first phase, which is under-construction, is a 10.58 km section from Princess Street  Flyover to the Worli-end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link. 

On Monday, the Worli to Marine Drive stretch would be inaugurated.

Guardian Ministers of Mumbai City district Deepak Kesarkar and Mumbai Suburban district Mangal Prabhat Lodha  too had inspected the project site.