Mumbai: The Maharashtra government plans to complete at least three major road projects, which will significantly ease travel for Mumbai residents, and two minor Metro lines within the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), this year.
This was revealed by the state’s Economy Survey 2025-26 report, tabled in the assembly Thursday.
The three key projects the government plans to complete this year are the Mumbai-Pune expressway missing link, an extension to the Santacruz Chembur Link Road, and the Sewri-Worli elevated road.
The missing link, which will bypass the Mumbai-Pune Expressway ghat section, involves building two tunnels and two bridges, including a cable-stayed one. The constructions, originally proposed over two decades ago, when the expressway was built, but not implemented at the time, had finally begun in 2019.
According to the Economy Survey 2025-26 report, the project cost estimate was Rs 7,155 crore. The report said the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the implementing agency, had spent Rs 7,560.44 crore. An MSRDC official, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint, “We are in the final phase of completion. We are looking at a target of inaugurating the project on 1 May.”
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is also set to complete work on a connector from the Bharat Diamond Bourse in the Bandra Kurla Complex to Vakola. The road, expected to be ready this year, will serve as an extension of the East-West Santacruz Chembur Link Road. The construction of the extension began in 2017, at an estimated cost of Rs 207.12 crore. The MMRDA, however, has already spent Rs 322.8 crore on its construction, the report said.
The third project for which the government has set a deadline this year is the Sewri-Worli elevated corridor. However, significant work on the project is still pending. The economic survey noted that the project, which will serve as a connector to Atal Setu and eventually feed traffic to the Navi Mumbai International Airport from Mumbai’s western coast, is only 62 percent complete.
The construction of the connector, first conceptualised in 2013, started in 2021. However, the project has been delayed due to land acquisition issues, as well as approval and resident rehabilitation issues that stalled the demolition of the Elphinstone Bridge. The century-old bridge is being replaced with a new double-decker bridge.
The project was estimated to cost Rs 2,283.53 crore, and Rs 1,436.4 crore has been spent so far. The MMRDA has set a deadline of completing the bridge by September 2026. Speaking to ThePrint, officials admitted that the 2026 deadline seemed ambitious but said the government was aggressively trying to meet it.
New metro lines & 5 more in 2027
The MMRDA plans to complete the 2.7-km Kasarvadavali-Gaimukh Metro line in the Thane district by April this year, according to the economic survey, which highlights the completion of nearly 96 percent of the civic works. The construction of the line, estimated to cost Rs 949 crore, started in 2019. The MMRDA has so far spent Rs 716.51 crore on it.
The new line will connect the 32 km-long, under-construction Wadala-Kasarvadavali corridor, which is scheduled to be fully ready in November 2027. Its construction started in 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 14,549 crore. According to the economic survey, the MMRDA has completed 88 percent of the corridor’s civil works, spending Rs 5,708.13 crore.
The second minor line to be completed this year is a 10.4-km Dahisar-Mira Bhayander corridor. Its construction started in 2019, and the MMRDA has completed 98 percent of the civil works. Of the Rs 6,607 crore estimated to be spent on the project, the MMRDA has incurred an expenditure of Rs 3,177.8 crore. The authority has set a deadline of December this year for the projects.
According to the economic survey, five more Metro lines, including some major ones expected to significantly help commuters, are set to be completed next year, that is, 2027. This includes the Wadala-Kasarvadavali line, which is set to be completed by November next year.
Other than that, the completion of a 23.6-km DN Nagar Mandale Metro corridor, which will provide connectivity to the already functioning Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro, and the Colaba-Aarey underground Aqua line, among others, is expected to be completed next year.
A portion of this line from Mandale to Diamond Garden in Chembur is complete. It has received safety certification and is now awaiting inauguration. The entire corridor, costing Rs 10,986 crore, is expected to be completed by March 2027.
According to the economic survey, the MMRDA has completed nearly 90 percent of the civil works on the entire corridor, spending Rs 7,552.14 crore. Additionally, a 14.5-kilometre Swami Samarth Nagar Vikhroli line is expected to be ready by March 2027. Nearly 83 percent of the civil works have been completed.
Then, a 3.1-km line from Andheri to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Sahar is to be completed by April 2027. This link is set to connect with the Dahisar-Andheri East Metro, which was made functional in 2023. So far, 66 percent of the civil works on the line have been completed.
A 20.7-km Kalyan-Taloja line in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is also scheduled to be completed by December 2027, according to the economic survey. However, so far, only 15 percent of the related civil works have been completed.
Work on this line began in 2023, and the project costs Rs 5,865 crore. Of that, Rs 783.93 crore has been spent so far.
Among other non-Metro projects with a 2027 deadline, the economic survey notes a link between the Atal Setu and the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Work on the project commenced in 2023, but progress has been minimal. Of the total Rs 1,136 crore estimated to be spent on the project, the MMRDA has so far spent Rs 276.34 crore.
According to the economic survey, the extension of the Eastern Freeway from Ghatkopar to Thane, which is feared to impact Mumbai’s famed ‘Pink Trumpet’ trees at Vikhroli, also has a 2027 deadline. However, not much work has been done so far; the MMRDA has spent Rs 300.87 crore of the total project cost of Rs 3,314 crore. The road, once complete, will offer a signal-free ride from South Mumbai to Thane.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)