Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Thane Belapur Highway Project nearing completion

The strategically located six lane Thane-Belapur highway along the industrial belt, that is fast becoming a catalyst for economic progress of the region and infrastructural pride of Navi Mumbai is nearing completion. The four flyovers in the Rs 130 crore prestigious project will be ready before the end of this year. The project was conceived by Thane Guardian minister and the architect of Navi Mumbai's progress Minister Ganesh Naik, who has through his relentless efforts ensured that it has seen the light of day The highway has become a source of great joy for the motorists who while enjoying the luxury of the highway do not have to pay any toll charges, a word kept by Ganesh Naik.
There was a time when a drive on Thane-Belapur road was a nightmare for both drivers and passengers. The journey that normally took an hour would increase to an hour and a half to two hours in monsoon due to heay traffic jams. The huge potholes on the road and the presence of heavy vehicles on the higlavay led to several fatal accidents which made riding two wheelers and driving smaller vehicles a dangerous proposition.
It was in this context that Shri Ganesh Naik decided to have a six-lane concrete road on the highway to be built by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) with help from the Central government.
At the time, not many believed the project would be possible due to the numerous hurdles it had to encounter.
There were the issues of companies, land and encroachments along the highway, issues of slum rehabilitation etc. that had to be resolved by NMMC to get the project going. Not many gave the project much of a chance.
Shri Ganesh Naik, however remained a pillar of strength for NMMC, taking up problematic issues at the government level and also finding just solutions to the issues of the locals. He took personal interest in the completion of the project.
The highway is of great significance for industries in the region who use it to ferrying goods and materials and also for transporting consignments to the JNPT port. The concretization of the highway has helped them greatly as the travelling time on the highway has reduced from the previous 1 - 1 ½ hr to just 20-25 minutes now. Driving too has become much safer.
While people in the country today are burdened with inflation and unemployment, Shri Ganesh Naik has provided reHef to the citizens of Navi klumbai by ensuring that taxes in the city have not been raised for several years now and yet development has continued.
The Thane-Belapur highway is the only six lane concretised highway in the country on which toll is not levied. Yet, there has been no compromise on the standard and quality of construction of the highway The quality of construction of this highway was proved when despite the diversion of Mumbra highway traffic to this road, the additional load did not have any effect on it. To ensure long lasting quality of work, NMMC Standing Committee chairman Sandeep Naik himself inspected the road work regularly and issued orders accordingly to NMMC officials. This has resulted in top quality work on the road that is shining today It is Shri Ganesh Naik's huge contribution to the progress and development of Navi Mumbai that has earned him the sobriquet of the city's architect. The settlers in the region while driving on this road experience the fruits of such strong and inspiring leadership in the city Shri Ganesh Naik, by ensuring a toll free highway in his constituency has earned loads of appreciation from the residents of Navi Mumbai and Thane.
To prevent accidents at pedestrian crossings in Rabale, Ghansoli and Kopar Khairane and to ensure smooth flow of traffic, work on four flyovers in the reglon was taken up. That work is in its final stages now Twin directional street lights on the 14 km highway, dense greenery, flyovers and foot over bridges at crossings, the magnificent corporate buildings along the road, the competing Thane-Belapur local trains will all make a drive on the road seem as an exhilarating journey in a foreign locale.
Hindustan times News

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