The Rs 65.9 million skywalk will be built near Gulabchand Dairy and will feature an escalator on one side and a lift on the other, providing safer and more convenient access for senior citizens, pregnant women and daily commuters. The stretch is among Navi Mumbai’s most congested, with regular jams reported from 9.30 am to 1 pm and again from 5.30 pm to 10.30 pm. Except at Juhu Gaon, most bottlenecks—including Vashi Sectors 9–10, 15–16, R.F. Naik Chowk and Koparkhairane Sector 15—are linked to uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.
Although a skywalk already exists between Vashi Sector 9–10 markets, its limited usage has raised questions about whether the new one will effectively decongest the area. Residents, however, argue that the Koparkhairane junction faces much heavier pedestrian pressure, especially during the evenings when commuters walk from the railway station through Sectors 15 to 18.
The proposed location is surrounded by dense residential clusters—Sectors 5 to 8 on one side and Sectors 15 to 18 on the other—as well as schools, colleges, markets, bus stops and one of the city’s highest concentrations of unauthorised hawkers. “Accidents are frequent here, including the death of a newspaper vendor four years ago,” a resident said, noting that lane-changing gaps in the median were sealed after repeated requests from traffic police.
Former corporator Ravindra Mhatre had undertaken two indefinite hunger strikes pressing for this skywalk among other civic issues.
“NMMC will construct the skywalk at Koparkhairane Sector 15 at an estimated cost of Rs 65.9 million. Tendering will begin soon. With an escalator and a lift, senior citizens, pregnant women and ailing persons will be able to use the skywalk easily,” an NMMC officer said.
The structure will stand five metres high, 3.5 metres wide and approximately twelve metres long. Construction is expected to begin after the tendering process is completed.
