By Arosh John | Founder – John Real Estate (MahaRERA Reg. No. A51700001835) | Editor-in-Chief – Thane Real Estate News (TREN)
Thane – MMR | November 2025
The road that carries a city’s patience
For years, Ghodbunder Road has been both Thane’s pride and its burden.
It connects the Eastern Express Highway to the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway (NH-48), forcing residential commuters, tourist buses, and industrial trailers to share the same six-lane corridor.
Traffic now crawls through the day—from Gaimukh Ghats to Owala, Kasarvadavali, and Anand Nagar—as trailers from the western industrial belt mix with local vehicles headed for offices, malls, and schools.
That pattern is about to change. Four coordinated MMRDA projects—the Thane Coastal Road and three new cross-creek bridges—will remove long-haul freight from this spine altogether.
When complete, Ghodbunder Road will finally serve the purpose for which it was built: as a residential and intra-city arterial, rather than a logistics corridor.
How These Four Projects Will Make Ghodbunder Road Truck-Free
Thane Coastal Road (Gaimukh → Thane–Nashik Highway Link)
Length: 13.45 km (8.11 km elevated + 5.22 km at grade) Contractor: Navayuga Engineering Cost: ₹ 2,727 crore
Running along Thane Creek, the Coastal Road begins at Gaimukh on NH-48 (Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor) and joins the Balkum interchange, connecting directly to the Thane–Nashik Highway (NH-160) and the Eastern Express Highway.
It is a dedicated heavy-freight bypass for trailers arriving from Vasai, Palghar, and Gujarat, heading toward Bhiwandi, Nashik, Pune, and beyond.
Once commissioned, no through-freight will enter Ghodbunder Road.
Heavy vehicles will use the creek-side Coastal Road, while Ghodbunder becomes a local arterial for residential and city traffic.
Gaimukh–Paye Gaon Bridge
Length: 6.509 km Contractor: Ashoka Buildcon Cost: ₹ 975.58 crore
This bridge links Gaimukh (Thane West) with Paye Gaon (Bhiwandi Taluka) across the Ulhas Creek, forming a direct west-to-north connection.
Heavy vehicles from the Western Highway and Gujarat industrial belt, bound for Bhiwandi, Nashik, or Pune, can cross here instead of entering Thane city or the Majiwada junction.
For residents, it also provides a shorter, signal-free commute from Thane West to the Anjurphata–Paye Gaon industrial belt, reducing travel time and improving daily connectivity.
Kasarvadavali–Kharbao Bridge
Length: 3.93 km Contractor: Afcons Infrastructure Cost: ₹ 1,525.31 crore (₹ 1,884 crore updated)
Connecting Kasarvadavali (Thane West) with Kharbao (Bhiwandi Taluka), this bridge opens a second cross-creek route for trucks and trailers from Vasai, Palghar, and the western corridor heading to Bhiwandi and Nashik.
By diverting this traffic outside Thane’s residential belt, it significantly reduces congestion through Owala, Waghbil, and Anand Nagar, where today’s trailer queues begin.
Kolshet–Kalher Bridge
Length: 1.64 km Contractor: Ashoka Buildcon Cost: ₹ 288.18 crore
This shorter link connects Kolshet / Balkum (central Thane) to Kalher / Anjurphata (Bhiwandi side).
It serves a dual purpose—carrying commuter traffic from residential Thane to Bhiwandi’s employment zones and providing a light-commercial outlet for service vehicles.
By giving central Thane an alternative exit, it decongests the Kapurbawdi and Majiwada merges, which have long been among the city’s worst choke points.
Unified Impact
All three bridges together establish direct Thane–Bhiwandi links, while the Coastal Road creates a complete west-to-north bypass.
Once these corridors open, industrial trucks, goods carriers, and inter-city freight will no longer use Ghodbunder Road.
| Origin → Destination | New Route | Primary Users | Impact on Ghodbunder |
|---|---|---|---|
| NH-48 / Gujarat → Nashik / Bhiwandi / Pune | Thane Coastal Road + Gaimukh–Paye Gaon Bridge | Heavy freight trailers | Diverts entire through-flow off the corridor |
| Western Highway → Bhiwandi Industrial Belt | Kasarvadavali–Kharbao Bridge | Long-haul trucks & containers | Removes trailers from Owala and Anand Nagar |
| Central Thane ↔ Bhiwandi Workforce Flow | Kolshet–Kalher Bridge | Residents & service vehicles | De-loads Kapurbawdi junction |
Together, these four projects make Ghodbunder Road a local and residential corridor once again—free from the long-haul freight convoys that have dominated it for decades.
The bigger picture
With a cumulative investment exceeding ₹ 5,000 crore, these corridors represent Thane’s most comprehensive mobility upgrade in two decades.
They replace a single over-burdened highway with a multi-route network that distributes traffic by purpose—freight on the creek-side bypasses, commuters within the city grid.
By the early 2030s, Ghodbunder Road could finally reveal its true identity: a landscaped residential boulevard rather than a truck route.
About the Author
Arosh John is the Founder of John Real Estate (MahaRERA Reg. No. A51700001835) and the Editor-in-Chief of Thane Real Estate News (TREN)—a platform dedicated to factual, insight-driven coverage of Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s real-estate and infrastructure evolution. With over a decade of on-ground experience across Thane’s residential, villa, and infrastructure corridors, Arosh is recognised as one of Thane’s leading real-estate and infrastructure voices, known for blending field-level advisory with data-backed journalism that helps buyers, developers, and investors make informed property decisions.
Disclaimer
All project details have been verified from official MMRDA tender documents, executive-committee records, and contractor filings available as of November 2025. Figures may vary with revised scopes or extensions. This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All trademarks and names belong to their respective owners. Reproduction without the written consent of Thane Real Estate News (TREN) is prohibited.
