Good News Mumbaikars & Punekars! MMRDA Gets Nod For MTHL Connector Linking Chirle To Mumbai-Pune E-Way

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has received approval for its proposed connection for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) at Chirle, which will connect to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The anticipated cost of the new Chirle connector, which is intended to save an hour’s worth of travel time between south Mumbai and Pune, is approximately INR 1000 crore. 

Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, the Metropolitan Commissioner of the MMRDA, tweeted the news. Dr. Mukherjee posted, “The project of MTHL connector connecting MTHL at Chirle to Mumbai-Pune Expressway at Palaspe is now approved and work is expected to start soon.”

Two six-lane elevated roadways will be part of the connector, which is expected to open soon. One would join Palaspe and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, while the other would connect Chirle and Gavhan Phata. The project will involve creating an interchange close to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and extending the current NH48 to six lanes.

The MMRDA issued a call for tenders in March 2023 to build an elevated corridor that would span 7.35 km, from the JNPT exit at Kon village in Panvel to the Chirle interchange in Ulwe. Once built, this vital elevated route would facilitate NH348 and NH48 road connectivity.

The project, which is expected to be completed in about 30 months, will benefit those using MTHL to go from Mumbai to Pune because it will allow them to avoid the congested Sion-Panvel Highway and bypass the Vashi toll post before reaching the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Since it opened in January, the nation’s longest sea bridge, the MTHL, has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to get from Mumbai to important locations such as the coastal Konkan, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, Navi Mumbai, the future New International Airport, Pune, and Goa highways.