Mumbai: India’s first double-decker flyover — one of the major showpiece projects of the Maharashtra government — was thrown open to the public by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) without any fanfare due to the ongoing election code of conduct.

The long-awaited 3.5-kilometre long Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) and the 1096-metre long Amar Mahal Junction flyover was finally completed ever since construction began in 2006 even though it was planned in 2002.

SCLR connects the Western Express Highway at Santacruz to the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) at Amar Mahal Junction, which connects five roads with the EEH where a huge traffic flow is always present everyday.

Boon to commuters

SCLR and the Amar Mahal junction flyover were aimed at easing traffic snarls at Amar Mahal, Sion and Kalanagar junctions and in Kurla. This east-west connectivity is a big boon to commuters as a 60-90 minute journey has been now reduced to a mere 15-20 minutes. A commuter, Priya R., who took this new route on Friday said, “This trip would take me at least one hour but it’s great that I could cut across this congested area in less than 10 minutes.”

Commuters can take the Vakola Junction Road, near Santacruz for accessing the upper level of the double-decker flyover to reach the EEH. From the lower level, commuters can access Kurla and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. The estimated number of vehicles on the six-lane SCLR will be 200,000 per day.

There are also pavements on the lower level to enable people to walk over from Kurla station to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.

SCLR missed 12 deadlines, the last on March 31, and delays were caused by not getting permission from the railways to build the double-decker flyover, and the rehabilitation of several families along its route. The MMRDA faced several obstacles in the completion, which included court cases, resettlement and rehabilitation problems and also encroachments. Over 3,500 affected families from residential, commercial and religious structures, which fell in the path of the SCLR had to be rehabilitated.

The delays also caused an escalation in the cost of the project from Rs1.15 billion (Dh700 million) to Rs4.50 billion.

Most delayed project

The project was a part of the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project. The SCLR was termed an “engineering marvel” by the National Geographic Society and was described by the World Bank as the “world’s most delayed project.”

This opening of the SCLR for the public comes after the Maharashtra government inaugurated other major infrastructure projects like the new terminal at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the Sahar Elevated Corridor, the Eastern Freeway and the Mumbai Monorail.

With the city’s traffic increasing by the day, the MMRDA has also decided to extend monorail services to 14 hours a day from 6am to 8pm beginning April 15 to ease congestion on the roads.

The monorail services were opened to the public on February 2 and were operational between 7am and 3pm at a frequency of 15 minutes.