Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has planned three new foot over bridges to curb road accidents and ensure smooth flow of traffic in the city.
One FOB will come up on Palm Beach road in Vashi, while the other two will be constructed on Thane-Belapur road.
Meanwhile, the civic body is all set to begin work on an arm bridge to connect Palm Beach road to Sion-Panvel highway to provide direct access to Panvel.
According to NMMC chief city engineer Sanjay Desai, “There is a huge increase in the number of vehicles on both the internal and main roads of the city. There is also a rise in the number of people moving from the nodal areas to the Trans Thane Creek (TTC) Industrial Area as new companies are setting up base here.”
Speaking on the projects, Desai explained, “Presently, there is a narrow FOB connecting Vashi node to Palm Beach road from near Dr Ambedkar Bhavan marg. It is used by several people, especially students. The FOB structure is old and needs to be pulled down. We will replace it with a new one that will be eight-feet wide and cost ₹32 lakh. We will ensure that even cyclists are able to take their cycles to the other side.”
On the Thane-Belapur road, he said, “One FOB will be constructed where the Pawne flyover from Kopri area descends at Thane Belapur road. At present, there are traffic signals, but pedestrians travelling to and fro MIDC area, often jump them and also cross from various locations risking their lives. We will remove the traffic signals there and construct an FOB at a cost of ₹3.45 crore to connect the nodal area to the MIDC area.”
He revealed, “The TATA Group is setting up a ₹5,000 crore IT park on a 47-acre of land close to Ghansoli. The upcoming project proposes to add over 70,000 jobs and the number of people crossing the road here will rise by multiple times.” He said, “The Tatas have proposed to construct an FOB on the Thane-Belapur road, which they will transfer to the NMMC once it is ready. The proposal is in the primary stage as of now.”