Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation’s standing committee has approved a four-lane road overbridge project for Mothagaon railway crossing
It was first conceptualised in 2007 by former mayor Pundlik Mhatre. During his tenure, an initial proposal was sent to the state government, which sanctioned ₹23 crore. After Pundlik Mhatre, BJP corporator Dipesh Mhatre had been pursuing the project since 2013, maintaining that a narrow bridge would quickly become inadequate given Dombivli’s growing vehicle numbers and population. Following sustained demands for a wider, four-lane bridge as a long-term solution, the revised proposal received clearance in 2017, along with the demarcation of municipal land. Mhatre also said that once the Mothagaon ROB is constructed, many Dombivli residents who depend on trains to travel to Thane for work will be able to use their vehicles to reach the city in around 25 minutes.
Dipesh Mhatre said, “With standing committee approval, the contractor who has been awarded the contract can actually start work on the ground in the coming few days. The bridge has been in the pipeline for nearly two decades. However, the project hit a roadblock after work began on the Central government’s Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) project, stalling its execution. The initiative also received support from state leaders. Then urban development minister Eknath Shinde helped facilitate initial financial support, while Dombivli MLA and Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan and Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde actively followed up with the concerned authorities.
Once operational, the ROB is expected to reduce travel time between Dombivli and Thane via the Mankoli bridge from around an hour to approximately 25 minutes. THANE: In a major development aimed at easing Dombivli’s chronic traffic congestion, the standing committee of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has approved a proposal for a four-lane road overbridge (ROB) at the crucial Mothagaon railway level crossing.