The Versova–Madh bridge: status, route and timeline (October 2026)

For now there are only two ways onto Madh Island: the small ferry across the creek from Versova, or a road trip of about 20 to 22 km round through Malad that can take up to 90 minutes.¹⁵ BMC's planned bridge across Malad (Versova) creek would cut that to a few minutes.

The bridge at a glance

• Route: from Madh Jetty Road on the Madh side, across Versova creek, to near Fisheries University Road in Versova.¹ Another report describes the Versova end as Amarnath Road near Versova Koliwada.²
• Length: about 2.06 km in all, of which 600 metres is cable-stayed, with a 300-metre main span between 150-metre back spans.¹²
• Width: four lanes, 27.5 metres wide.²
• Project owner: BMC (the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), with the work done by a contractor.¹²
• Link to the coastal road: it is planned to connect with phase two of the Mumbai Coastal Road.¹
• Time saved: reports say the trip would drop from about 90 minutes to between five and ten minutes, and the distance from 20 to 22 km to under 3 km.¹²⁵

What it costs

Reports give different figures, and they don't explain the gap the same way.

• About ₹2,395 crore is the main construction contract.¹⁵
• About ₹3,990 crore is the larger figure reported in November 2025, which says it also covers three years of maintenance, the casting-yard rent and allowances for price changes.² An earlier report gave about ₹3,984 crore, and put the extra down to land, management and other overheads.⁵

Timeline

• 1967: the bridge first appears in Mumbai's Development Plan.¹
• February 2023: the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority approves the revised design, after first asking BMC to look at other alignments.¹
• March 2023: BMC invites tenders.¹
• 29 August 2024: BMC awards the contract.² A later report gives September 2025 for the work order.¹
• July (reported in 2025): the state's Revenue and Forest Department recommends the project for environmental clearance.²
• December 2025: BMC begins surveys on the ground.⁶
• October 2025: the Union Environment Ministry gives in-principle approval for using the mangrove land, with conditions.⁶ BMC is to deposit ₹12.5 crore towards mangrove clearance and restoration.¹
• 17 September 2026: after hearing the case on 9 September, the Bombay High Court allows BMC to cut 1,237 mangroves on about 2.75 hectares, calling the bridge a genuine public cause.³⁴⁷
• March 2029: BMC's target for completion.¹ Building is expected to take about three years once work starts,² and work hadn't started by October 2026, so that date looks likely to slip.

The mangroves

The route runs through mangroves inside the Coastal Regulation Zone, and cutting mangroves in Mumbai needs the Bombay High Court's permission.¹⁴ After BMC was asked to reduce the damage to mangroves, it moved to a cable-stayed design.⁵ Only about 0.2 hectares will be taken up permanently by the piers and pylons. BMC paid ₹1.42 crore for replacement mangroves on nine hectares in Thane district, to be monitored for ten years, and a ₹12.5-crore plan will restore 2.5 hectares on site after construction.⁴⁷ The Bombay Environmental Action Group opposed BMC's petition, arguing harm to sea life, a weak assessment of the environmental effects and too little replacement planting.³⁷

What it means for Madh

• Until it opens, nothing changes. Use the ferry or the road: see how to reach Madh Island.
• The ferry today isn't for cars,⁵ and stops around midnight.¹ In past years it was often stopped for much of the monsoon.⁶ Madh Local checked that it kept running through the 2026 monsoon, but boats can be suspended in storms.
• More traffic is likely. A road that cuts the trip to minutes will bring more cars to the island's villages, so expect parking and traffic to become bigger local questions.

We'll update this page as work starts. For the island's longer story, read a history of Madh Island.