Mumbai’s next big leap: The Uttan-Virar Sea Link that could rewrite city’s long-distance commute

Once completed, Uttan-Virar Sea Link will help form a near-continuous ring road along the city’s western coastline, allowing people one day to travel smoothly from Nariman Point all the way to Virar and later even further north to Palghar.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Uttan-Virar Sea Link, a major coastal road project that will become the northernmost stretch of Mumbai’s future coastal road network.

Once completed, this link will help form a near-continuous ring road along the city’s western coastline, allowing people one day to travel smoothly from Nariman Point all the way to Virar and later even further north to Palghar.

The Uttan–Virar Sea Link (UVSL) has been planned as an eight-lane, high-speed coastal corridor within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In its first phase, the project aims to connect Uttan, near Bhayandar, to Virar with a 24.35-km bridge built over the sea. This marks the first step of a larger plan to extend the route from Virar to Vadhavan in Palghar, where a new deep-draft port is proposed.

A 120-km coastal corridor that will transform how Mumbai moves.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region is set for its biggest mobility leap yet — a high-speed coastal corridor that will supercharge the region’s growth.

The Government of Maharashtra has cleared the Uttan–Virar Sea Link… pic.twitter.com/MHAHaQ65v2

— MMRDA (@MMRDAOfficial) November 24, 2025

Phase 1 of the project covers a total of 55.12 km, including both the sea bridge and the approach roads. These include the 24.35-km sea link, a 9.32-km connecting road at Uttan, a 2.5-km connector at Vasai, and an 18.95-km connecting road at Virar.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 58,754 crore. To fund this, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has been allowed to borrow Rs 44,332 crore from foreign lenders. Japan’s development agency, JICA, is one of the main funding options being explored. The state government will provide Rs 11,116 crore, which will go toward taxes, land acquisition and rehabilitation, while MMRDA will add an additional Rs 3,306 crore.

How will new sea link improve travel to South Mumbai?

The Uttan–Virar Sea Link does not itself directly improve access to South Mumbai. Its importance lies in its role within a much larger plan to build a full coastal road chain along western Mumbai.

This chain includes the already operational Mumbai Coastal Road, the Bandra–Worli Sea Link, the under-construction Bandra–Versova Sea Link, and the planned Versova–Bhayandar elevated coastal road.

Only when all these links are completed will commuters experience a fast, uninterrupted drive from South Mumbai to Virar.

Traffic problems to be eased

When the entire coastal corridor becomes operational, it is expected to greatly reduce traffic on the Western Express Highway, SV Road and Link Road, all of which face severe congestion every day. The sea link also addresses the lack of any direct coastal route north of Versova.

At present, travelling between Mumbai’s northernmost suburbs and South Mumbai can take between 90 minutes and two hours. With the full corridor in place, this could come down to 45-55 minutes from Virar to South Mumbai, and around 30-40 minutes from Uttan or Vasai. The exact time savings will depend on when the remaining links are completed.

Connection with Delhi–Mumbai Expressway

The Virar connector will directly link the coastal corridor to the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway. This will allow vehicles from Delhi, Gujarat and other regions to enter Mumbai through the coastal route instead of crowding the western suburbs. It will also speed up the movement of goods across western India.

The UVSL will also form the southern end of a proposed coastal expressway that will extend to Vadhavan Port. This will create a fast, direct route for freight between the port and Mumbai, reducing heavy-truck movement on local roads and improving overall logistics efficiency.