The extension of the Palm Beach road from Ghansoli to Airoli-Mulund Bridge has seen the ray of light as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has invited technical bids. Around 3.47 km of road will be constructed as part of the extension. At present, the length of Palm Beach Road also known as the necklace of Navi Mumbai is 19.2 km and it starts at Belapur and ends in Ghansoli. As per the decision, NMMC and the CIDCO will jointly bear the cost of the project and CIDCO’s share will be 50% of the cost. The total cost of the road which will have around 1.9 km long flyover will be around Rs 540 crores. NMMC has already made a provision of Rs 372 crores for extension of Palm Beach road from Ghansoli in the budget 2023-24. “The proposed extension of Palm Beach road from Ghansoli to Airoli is a boon for reducing traffic congestion and reliable travelling for commuters from CBD Belapur to Mumbai or Thane,” said an official from NMMC.
Earlier, CIDCO planned Palm Beach Marg of 21.12 km length from CBD Belapur to sector 10 A in Airoli. However, the road was constructed upto Ghansoli and around 1.9 km road could not be constructed due to mangroves. CIDCO completed Palm beach road of length 19.20 km and commissioned the same from CBD Belapur to Vashi completely and Vashi to Ghansoli partly. The road consisted of many minor and major bridges and was commissioned in the year 2004. This road has provided alternate routes for vehicles from CBD Belapur to Mumbai or Thane apart from existing Sion-Panvel highway and Thane-Belapur road. The completed part of Palm Beach road was handed over to NMMC and is now maintained by NMMC. Currently, the work on the stretch between Vashi and Airoli of length 1.94 km is yet to be completed and hence there is no direct access to Airoli-Mulund bridge. Later, the civic body came up with a revised plan and decided to extend the Palm Beach Road upto Airoli-Mulund bridge, around 1.5 km additional to the existing plan. Accordingly, the cost of the road was also increased. The proposed extension of Palm Beach road from Airoli to Ghansoli is also part of the proposed Regional Connectivity to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
Moreover, this connectivity is the part of the Coastal road from Thane to Sanpada as per the Updation of Comprehensive Transport Study for Mumbai Metropolitan Region. “The Ghansoli-Airoli part of the Palm Beach Road will help curb daily traffic congestion on Thane-Belapur Road. In addition, it will also connect to Airoli-Mulund bridge, using the under construction Airoli-Katai route, motorists will be able to travel to Kalyan, Badlapur, Ambernath, Murbad and other areas. The road will also help in reaching the proposed NMIA, said a senior official from the civic Engineering Department.