MUMBAI: A project that was envisaged in Mumbai’s 1967 Development Plan and remained a mere proposal for decades became a reality on Monday. Coastal Road was inaugurated by chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on Monday, marked by the show of a green flag, followed by a rally of 30 vintage and classic cars. The southbound arm of the road opens to motorists on Tuesday, with the northbound arm expected to be finished in May. BEST is expected to soon announce bus numbers that would be operational on the route.
Among the first to drive on the road after its inauguration was Western India Automobile Association chairman Nitin Dossa, who was in his 1952 Chrysler Windsor, which was once owned by British governor of Madras. Behind him were special-invitee women from self-help groups who were in BEST’s new double-decker AC buses. One of them, Kandivli resident Choti Singh, said, “It was a great feeling to go from Worli to Marine Drive in less than 10 minutes. A few years ago, one would never have believed that such a route was possible.”
That Coastal Road is smoother than any other city road was attested by those who rode the vintage and classic cars. “Such old cars usually have poor shock absorbers, but I couldn’t feel a thing during my ride,” said a fedora-clad gentleman who drove away before giving his name. The cars that were part of the rally included such beauties as vintage Chrysler, Buick, Cadillac, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Mercedes, Daimler, Ford, Chevrolet, Fiat, Morris, Packard, and Volkswagen.
“Coastal Road has cut Worli-SoBo travel time from 40 minutes to 9 minutes and will save nearly $100 million annually in fuel savings, cutting carbon emissions,” said civic chief IS Chahal. “The road will be a game changer,” said executive civic health officer Dr Daksha Shah, who travels to BMC HQ or Mantralaya from her home in Jogeshwari regularly. “We will be able to understand traffic patterns once regular traffic starts on the road.”
Project in-charge and additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide said, “We expect to complete the entire project by May. While work began in 2018, we suffered delays because of Covid and court cases (by project-affected persons).”
Among the first to drive on the road after its inauguration was Western India Automobile Association chairman Nitin Dossa, who was in his 1952 Chrysler Windsor, which was once owned by British governor of Madras. Behind him were special-invitee women from self-help groups who were in BEST’s new double-decker AC buses. One of them, Kandivli resident Choti Singh, said, “It was a great feeling to go from Worli to Marine Drive in less than 10 minutes. A few years ago, one would never have believed that such a route was possible.”
That Coastal Road is smoother than any other city road was attested by those who rode the vintage and classic cars. “Such old cars usually have poor shock absorbers, but I couldn’t feel a thing during my ride,” said a fedora-clad gentleman who drove away before giving his name. The cars that were part of the rally included such beauties as vintage Chrysler, Buick, Cadillac, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Mercedes, Daimler, Ford, Chevrolet, Fiat, Morris, Packard, and Volkswagen.
“Coastal Road has cut Worli-SoBo travel time from 40 minutes to 9 minutes and will save nearly $100 million annually in fuel savings, cutting carbon emissions,” said civic chief IS Chahal. “The road will be a game changer,” said executive civic health officer Dr Daksha Shah, who travels to BMC HQ or Mantralaya from her home in Jogeshwari regularly. “We will be able to understand traffic patterns once regular traffic starts on the road.”
Project in-charge and additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide said, “We expect to complete the entire project by May. While work began in 2018, we suffered delays because of Covid and court cases (by project-affected persons).”