Versova bridge to be open for the public from February 20: MP Rajan Vichare

New Year will bring good news for people travelling from Mumbai and Thane to Surat. Thane’s MP Rajan Vichare has promised that the Versova bridge near Hotel Fountain will be opened to the public from February 20 next year. The commuters will get some relief once the bridge is opened as the traffic on the road will be eased.

Early this month, Vichare inspected the progress of the bridge work. The repair work of the Versova bridge, part of NH 8, and a new bridge with four lanes and 970m long is nearing completion. The total distance under work is 2.25 km.

The said work was expected to start in January 2018. However, the work was stalled due to the delay in getting the requisite permissions from the Forest department. Finally, it picked pace in April 2019 when the approvals were received. But when COVID-19 struck, there was again a delay in completing the work. During that period, Vichare kept following up with the concerned department. Also, with the transfer of the bridge from MSRDC to the Public Works Department, Vichare has secured funds from the government for the work on this road.

It has been over four years since the work on the bridge started. According to PCU (Passenger Car Unit)’s data, nearly 1.25 lakh vehicles use the bridge every day. The opening of this bridge will be a welcome change for commuters in the new year.