In view of the heavy traffic snarls daily on SV Road and Akruli Road, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be soon starting work on the bridge. BMC officials and local corporators joined hands on Saturday for the bhoomi pujan.

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray who was present called the project the need of the hour. The Hutmata Rajguru bridge, as it will be known, is scheduled to be completed in a year. The civic body and the corporators hope the work, when completed, will make East-West connectivity easier.

“For the last 10 years, people have been complaining about traffic snarls. Many kept telling me why the bridge work has not started. We now hope it will be completed without further delay,” said local MLA P U Mehta.

“It will connect the highway, further decongesting SV Road and Shankar Lane, especially during peak hours,” said BJP Corporator and standing committee member, Yogesh Sagar.

While the western stretch from SV Road to Kilachand Road was started in 1998 and completed in 2000, the work on the eastern stretch could not be started due to delay in acquisition of land from the Central Ordinance Depot (COD) and encroachment on the eastern side. People in 108 encroachments in the area will now be rehabilitated at Ghatkopar.

BJP city chief Gopal Shetty said, “The Middle Vaitarna project will end water war. This bridge will bring respite to people in the suburbs by bringing down traffic war,” said Shetty.

The 750-metre bridge will be 15.3 metre wide. The civic body is spending Rs 17 crore on the bridge whereas around Rs 4 crore had already been spent on the western side.