Mumbai: Vikhroli East-West Connector to Open on 14th June After 28-Year Wait
Mumbai, 14th June 2025: Nearly three decades after it was first proposed, the long-awaited Vikhroli East-West connector is finally ready for public use. The bridge will officially open to traffic on Saturday, June 14 at 4 PM, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on social media Friday evening.
Though the main structural work was completed by May 31, the lack of an official announcement had sparked growing unrest among local residents, frustrated by years of delay and worsening traffic congestion in the area.
“After final touches like lane markings, installation of traffic signals, and development of traffic islands were completed, we were only waiting for administrative clearance for the opening,” said a senior civic official.
Following the tragic Air India crash earlier this week, authorities chose to cancel the formal inauguration ceremony out of respect. Instead, Chief Minister Fadnavis directed the civic administration to immediately open the bridge, citing the ongoing monsoon and the need to ease public inconvenience.
The 615-meter-long and 12-meter-wide bridge connects the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in the east to Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in the west at Vikhroli. It features four lanes for vehicular traffic along with dedicated footpaths for pedestrians. Of the total span, 565 meters were constructed by the BMC and the remaining 50 meters by the Railways.
The new connector is also notable for being India’s longest railway overbridge using an open-web girder system over operational railway tracks.
Once operational, the bridge is expected to slash commute time across Vikhroli from the current 25–30 minutes to just seven minutes, providing major relief to daily commuters. Initially proposed in 1997, construction only began in 2018. The project’s cost has ballooned from an original estimate of ₹70 crore to ₹180 crore due to repeated delays.
