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EASTERN FREE WAY MUMBAI

1.INTRODUCTION

Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway is India’s second largest flyover and its elevated
road is the longest in an urban area in the country. It is considered a
technological and engineering marvel. P D’Mello Road in South Mumbai is
connected to the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) at Ghatkopar through this
freeway. The Freeway has reduced travel time from Museum (Colaba) to
Ghatkopar to 25 – 30 minutes from 90 minutes.

In June 2013, this 16.8 km long freeway became operational and is believed
to support over 25,000 vehicles daily. The Freeway has no traffic signals and
is toll free. The Eastern Freeway bypasses 28 traffic signals and has drastically
reduced the time taken to travel from South Mumbai to Wadala, Antop Hill,
Chembur, Monkhood, Ghatkopar, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

The freeway is divided into three parts: the 9.3-km elevated road, the 4.3-km
road-tunnel-flyover and an elevated 2.5-km flyover from Panjarpol till the
Mankhurd-Ghatkopar Link Road (MGLR) via Govandi.

The Eastern Freeway is made up of 346 pillars, 1,647 span segments, each
weighing 75 tons. It is designed to withstand earthquakes measuring 7.5 on
the Richter scale. The 9.3 Km Bridge from PD Mello Road to Anik is the
second largest urban bridge in India. The 75 feet Eastern Freeway bridge at
Shivaji Chowk (Chembur) is the tallest bridge in India. It is designed to
accommodate future Metro train viaducts.

There have been around 1100 laborers working every day for four years for
the project along with 13 engineers from the MMRDA and 82 contractors.

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Cement, numbering 30.25 lakh bags, 43,100 tonnes of iron rods and 3150
tonnes of high pressure iron were used in the construction of the freeway.

In 2013, explaining the unique features of the project, executive engineer

Jaywant Dhane disclosed that it took 2,000 tonnes of high tensile steel strands
of almost 2,600 km (enough to make return trip to New Delhi) in the concrete
structure. Dhane said that the 32,000 tonnes of special iron used in the
concrete.

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2.HISTORY

Wilbur Smith and Associates, commissioned in 1962 to study transportation

in Bombay, recommended construction of a freeway from the southern part
of the city to the Western Express Highway near Bandra. An eastern freeway
to connect the Eastern Suburbs with South Mumbai was also proposed in the
Central Road Research Institute's transport improvement plan for Bombay in
1983. It also recommended a western freeway to connect the Western Suburbs
with South Mumbai. However, the plan was not given serious consideration
until about 2003, when work on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), which
was part of the proposed Western Freeway, had begun. It led to an increase in
traffic in eastern Mumbai, and the MMRDA decided to consider building the
Eastern Freeway. The MMRDA called for bid in 2007, and construction of
the main freeway began in January 2008, except for the Anik-Panjarpol link
road on which construction had begun in 2004. The Eastern Freeway was
scheduled to be completed by 18 January 2011 but faced several delays due
to obtaining permissions for construction in forest and salt pan areas,
reclaiming of land and difficulties posed by unmapped underground utilities
in the construction work. The delays also escalated the cost of the 9.29 km

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elevated road from the initial ₹5.31 billion (US$74 million) to ₹5.72 billion
(US$80 million).

A 14 km section of the 17 km Eastern Freeway was completed by 24 May

2013.Chavan had promised to open the freeway on 7 June 2013, when he
inaugurated the Milan flyover in May 2013. The delay in opening the freeway
led to criticism from transport experts and the media and protests from angry
Mumbai residents.The problem was exacerbated by heavy monsoon rains that
caused most other roads to be waterlogged.A 13.59 km stretch of the Eastern
Freeway, comprising the four-lane 9.29 km elevated road from Orange Gate
on

P D'Mello Road to the beginning of Anik-Panjarpol Link Road and four of

eight lanes of the 4.3 km road-tunnel-flyover from Anik to the beginning of
Panjarpol-Ghatkopar Link Road, was eventually inaugurated by the Chief
Minister himself on 13 June 2013. However, the freeway could not be opened
the same day as the stage erected for the ceremony remained in the middle of
the road.The freeway was opened to the public the following day.

All civil work on the remaining stretch from Panjarpol to Ghatkopar-

Mankhurd Link Road (GMLR) was completed in January 2014. The final
stretch opened to the public in April 2014.

The original estimated cost of all three segments together was ₹8.47 billion
(US$120 million). The final cost of the project is estimated to be ₹14.63
billion (US$200 million).

Eight CCTV cameras are installed on the freeway and are operational since
12 August 2015.The Eastern Freeway is a controlled-access highway,in
Mumbai, that connects P D'Mello Road in South Mumbai to the Eastern

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Express Highway (EEH) at Ghatkopar. It is 16.8 km long and its estimated

cost is

₹1,436 crore (US$200 million). The Eastern Freeway was built by the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and
funded by the Central Government through the Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal

Mission (JnNURM). Construction was contracted to Simplex Infrastructure

Ltd. A 13.59 km stretch of the freeway, comprising two of three segments
with one of the twin tunnels, from Orange Gate on P D'Mello Road up to
Panjarpol, near RK Studios in Chembur, was opened to the public on 14 June
2013.The second tunnel was opened on 12 April 2014. The third and final
segment from Panjarpol to Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road (GMLR) was
opened on 16 June 2014.

In the Indian road network, expressways and freeways are the highest class of
roads. They are six or eight-lane controlled-access highways where entrance
and exit is controlled by the use of slip roads. In India, at present there are
approximately 1,455.4 km of operational expressways. By 2022, there are
plans to expand and add an additional 18,637 km of expressways by the
National Highways Development Project by Government of India.

3.SEGMENTS OF EASTERN FREEWAY

This freeway is of three segments

1.4-lane fly over (9.3kms)

2.8-lane twin tunnel (5kms)

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3.4-lane flyover (2.8kms)

First segment : Eastern Freeway – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu

Sangrahalay to Anik Junction (Elevated corridor)

The First part of the Freeway runs from SV Patel junction on P D'Mello Road
and meets Anik-Panjarpol Link Road via Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT). The
road is being constructed on elevated corridor after considering the demand
from MbPT so as to enable faster movement of heavy traffic towards MbPT.
The 9.29 km long Eastern Freeway 17.2 m wide will offer 2+2 lanes.The first
section has a length of .3 km, width of 17.2 meters and connects P D'Mello
Road to Anik. This phase also includes ground improvement of existing
roads, the construction of a 4-lane elevated corridor and the construction of a
missing link. This stretch is made up of 4 sections, and has 5 ramps for exit
and entry at Reay Road, Port Road, Anik and Orange Gate.

Section I – From S.V Patel road junction on P D'Mello road to Orange Gate
consisting of up and down ramps (0.41 km)

Section II – Orange gate to Mumbai Port Trust pipeline gate – elevated

corridor (7.02 km)

Section III – Mumbai Port Trust pipe line gate to WTT road consisting of
construction of elevated corridor through salt pan (Missing Link) and
Customs area (0.78 km)

Section IV – WTT road near customs area to start of APLR - Elevated corridor
(1.08 km)

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Civil construction work on this section was completed on 9 March 2013. The

9.29 km stretch from Orange Gate to Mahul creek is the longest flyover in
Mumbai and third longest flyover in India, after the 25 km Kanpur city bypass
flyover on NH-2 and the 11.6 km P.V. Narasimha Rao Elevated Expressway
in Hyderabad.This segment was opened to the public on 14 June 2013, along
with four lanes of the Anik - Panjarpol link road.

Figure 1: elevated flyover of Eastern Freeway

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Part-II: Anik-Panjarpol Link Road

Anik-Panjarpol Link Road is the second part of the Eastern Freeway Project.
This begins from Anik in Wadala and ends at Panjarpol Junction on the
SionPanvel Link Road. There will be five bridges, 3 underpasses, 2 tunnels
and 1 foot over bridge on this 4.3 km road. This also includes elevated as well
as on ground 4+4 lane concretized road.The second segment is the 8-lane, 5
km long Anik - Panjarpol link road. This stretch required the construction of
Mumbai's first twin tunnel. The twin tunnels are 505m (North-bound) and
555m (Southbound) in length; 18 metres in width and 9 metres in height.

This segment was opened to traffic on 14 June 2013. However, only the
Northbound tunnel was opened on that date, but it was used for two-way
traffic. The South-bound tunnel was opened to traffic from 12 April 2014,
making the entire stretch 8-lane.The ramps connecting Anik Wadala Road to
the Eastern Freeway were opened to traffic on 6 April 2014. The construction
of these two ramps had been scheduled to complete in January 2014, but the
work was delayed due to unforeseen technical reasons.

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Figure2: Twin tunnels of Eastern Freeway

Figure3: Tunnel road of EFW

Part-III: Panjarpol-Ghatkopar Link Road

The entirely elevated Panjarpol-Ghatkopar Link Road is the third part of the

Eastern Freeway Project. It starts from Panjarpol Junction on the Sion-Panvel

Link Road and culminates at Chembur-Mankhurd Link Road via Tukaram

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Patil Marg. This link road is 3 km long, 17.2 mtr. Wide and will provide 2+2
lanes.

The third segment consists of a 4-lane elevated 2.8 km flyover from Panjarpol
till the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road (GMLR), via Govandi.This stretch
has 3 ramps near Deonar, Govandi and Panjarpol.The section consists of 103
spans.Like the elevated section of the freeway, the Panjarpol-Ghatkopar Link
Road has a bitumen layer atop the concrete, ensuring smoother riding quality
than a regular cement road.

Construction work on this phase of the project was awarded in August 2009
at a cost of ₹168 crore (equivalent to ₹316 crore or US$44 million in
2018),and MMRDA officials announced February 2011 as the deadline.
However, obtaining permissions from authorities concerned, rehabilitating
project affected families and engineering challenges involved during the
construction stage, delayed the project.

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Figure 4: Arial view of Eastern Freeway

Figure 5: ROUTE MAP OF EFW

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4.TECHNICAL SUMMARY

The Eastern Freeway is made up of 346 pillars, 1,647 span segments, each
weighing 75 tons. It is designed to withstand earthquakes measuring 7.5 on
the Richter scale. The 9.3 Km Bridge from PD Mello Road to Anik is the
second largest urban bridge in India. The 75 feet Eastern Freeway bridge at
Shivaji Chowk (Chembur) is the tallest bridge in India. It is designed to
accommodate future Metro train viaducts.

There have been around 1100 labourers working every day for four years for
the project along with 13 engineers from the MMRDA and 82 contractors.
Cement, numbering 30.25 lakh bags, 43,100 tonnes of iron rods and 3150
tonnes of high pressure iron were used in the construction of the freeway.

In 2013, explaining the unique features of the project, executive engineer

Jaywant Dhane disclosed that it took 2,000 tonnes of high tensile steel strands
of almost 2,600 km (enough to make return trip to New Delhi) in the concrete
structure. Dhane said that the 32,000 tonnes of special iron used in the
concrete frame could span around 8,000 km, and it took 15 lakh cement bags
to make the 3,346 girders and the concrete structure.

4.1. COST OF THE PROJECT :

Part-I - S.V.Patel Junction to Start of Anik Panjarpole Link Road (APLR):

9.29 km elevated road from S.V. Patel Junction to Start of APLR:-

According to the sanctioned tender, the cost of this project is Rs.531.00
crores. Considering the extended scope, expected cost will be Rs.749.00
crores (price escalation & other extra works).

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The cost shares for this project by Government of India, Govt. of Maharashtra
under JNNURM are Rs.117 crores and 51 crores respectively.

Part-II - Anik Panjarpole link Road (APLR) : According to the sanctioned

tender, the cost of this project is Rs.221.00 crores for length 4.5 Kms.
comprising of 500 meter twin tunnel, flyovers, bridges, and at grade road.

Part-III :From Panjarpole Junction. to Chembur Mankhurd Link Road

(CMLR)

According to the sanctioned tender, the cost of this project is Rs.168.00

crores and the revised cost is Rs.293.87 crore for length 3.0 km comprising
2+2 lane elevated road. (Increase in cost is due to an increase in scope of work
and price escalation).

4.2.TRAFFIC SURVEY :

Projected Peak Hour Traffic on Eastern Freeway (in PCU) as per Traffic
Surveys and Analysis, September 2006.

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4.2.(a)Kind of Technology employed to implement the project :

Precast segmental girder construction, supported on pier with pile foundation

4.3.PROJECT FEATURES

1 twin tunnel (500 m long) and 1 foot over bridge

Erection activity carried out by 7 Nos. of Launching Trusses

Total length: 16.60 km

2. Out of 16.60 km, length of 9.29 km is elevated segmental corridor between

S.V. Patel Chowk on P.D'Mello Road and Bhakti Park, second longest in
the city. Another length of 2.5 km elevated corridor between Panjarpole to
Govandi ROB is with 22mtr tall piers

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3. 4 Bridges

4+4 lane, 500m long twin tunnel, which is first of its kind in Mumbai Bridge

4. This project consists of all components of Civil Engineering which

includes segmental elevated construction, creek bridges, flyovers, Railway
Over Bridge and tunnel

5.ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

This freeway is for four wheeler vehicles, no four Wheeler traffic is seen in

Mumbai city from PD MELLOW ROAD to GHATKOPAR

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It can allow 25000 vehicles at a time

It can with stand earthquke up to 7.5 on the richer scale

In monsoon traffic is observed at end terminals if freeway because people

prefer

4 Wheeler vehicles in monsoon two wheeler vehicles are not allowed on

freeway later these obstacles are solved By expansion at 2nd segment of
Eastern free way helped for 2 wheelers to travel through twin tunnels

6.CONCLUSION AND OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED

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Eastern Freeway Part-I (Elevated Road) & Part-II opened for trafic since 14th
June 2013.

Two Bridges across Mahul Creek (near Bhakti Park) joining Eastern Freeway
& Anik-Wadala Link Road opened for traffic since 5th April 2014.

Eastern Freeway Part-III opened for traffic since 16th June 2014.

Travel time reduced from 90mins to 25mins bypasses 28 traffic signals

Designed for 100km/hr speed, signal free link

Designed for heavy multiaxle vehicular traffic

One can reach Southern Mumbai within15-20 minutes from Ghatkopar on

Eastern Express Highway and from Chembur on Sion-Panvel road

Lower operating cost/transportation cost for vehicles

Facilitate cargo growth and expanding container facilities in Mumbai Port

Challenges Faced :

Transfer of land from various Government agencies like MbPT, Salt pan and
Customs

Huge and various underground utilities

5500 structures rehabilitated including 30 Religious structures

Environmental clearance

Diversion of Forest land for non forest activities

Railway permission

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Restricted working hours in Mumbai Port Trust area

Shifting of TATA pylons

Erection of segments at a 13 m height, across the existing 100 year old

Victoria over bridge

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REFERENCES

https://wonderfulmumbai.com/mumbai-eastern-freeway-map-route-and-
location/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Freeway_(Mumbai)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/138173-mumbai-
eastern-freeway.html

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