Kora Kendra bridge extension inches forward
Construction on the Kora Kendra flyover began in 2018, a 970-metre stretch connecting the Kora Kendra junction on SV Road and Link Road in Borivali. The Covid-19 pandemic slowed its completion, after which, in 2021, the civic administration decided to extend the bridge to free up Borivali's arterial roads.
After the bridge's landing on SV Road, the FM Cariappa flyover takes commuters to Borivali east. The extension will pick up from here, going straight to the WEH. The extension was awarded to the same contractor as the flyover, adding ₹ 299 crore to the project cost.
'Work on the extension has been underway for so long, it's burned into my memory,' said frequent user of the Kora Kendra flyover, Hamza Lakdawala. 'I can hardly remember a time when work wasn't going on!' Others on social media platform X too are asking the same question.
'Progress on the extension is 37% complete,' said an official from the bridges department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). 'There are some slum homes in the way, in Rajendra Nagar, which is the hold-up. Around 310 homes need to be cleared, of which 92 have been demolished.'
The official said once the encroachments are removed, work will speed up, and the target of November 2026 would be met.
But Lakdawala is not impressed. 'The Kora Kendra bridge has made a difference, although only relatively. It is a narrow bridge, so vehicles aren't exactly charging through. The space beneath the bridge is very congested, thanks to parking space created and the pillars of the bridge. I suspect this extension will be the same, easing our commute slightly, but not adequately.'
Sanjay Upadhyay, MLA from Borivali, said he was monitoring work on the bridge. 'We are making sure encroachers obstructing the extension will get permanent rehabilitation and that the intersection, where the bridge ends and the twin tunnels are set to begin, is built seamlessly,' he said.
A senior civic official said the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and MMRDA are studying the junction leading up to the proposed twin tunnels, to devise a plan for seamless traffic flow.
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