The north-bound arm of the Mumbai Coastal Road - from Marine Drive to Haji Ali - was inaugurated on Monday, marking a crucial phase in the metropolis's infrastructure upgrade as it will drastically reduce travel time for motorists.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, rode a vintage Rolls Royce to mark the formal inauguration of the Dharamveer Swaraj Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Mumbai Coastal Road.

Vehicular movement on the route was allowed from 4 pm on Monday, a civic spokesperson said. Initially, the Mumbai civic body had announced that the road stretch would be open for vehicles from Tuesday.

Like the south-bound arm, which opened for vehicular movement in March this year, the northern arm of the coastal road will be operational between 7 am and 11 pm on weekdays.

At present, the south-bound arm caters to vehicles travelling between Worli and Marine Drive.

The north-bound arm will be operational only between Marine Drive and the vehicular interchange at Haji Ali. Civic officials stated that the operational length of the north-bound arm is around 6.25 km, while the south-bound arm covers an eight-kilometre stretch.

Pegged at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore, the coastal road is a high-speed corridor that will connect the Bandra Worli Sea Link with Marine Drive through a series of tunnels, vehicular interchanges, and bridges.

Shinde said the opening of the 6.25-km-long northbound corridor will make the travelling experience "pleasant" for people.

He referenced a tweet by actor Amitabh Bachchan after the inauguration of the south-bound arm of the coastal road.

The north-bound corridor, with a tunnel between Marine Lines and Haji Ali, was inaugurated on Monday, while the remaining portion up to Worli will be opened for traffic in July, Shinde said.

"Earlier, the travel time between Marine Lines and Haji Ali was 40 to 50 minutes, but now it will take only eight minutes, a big relief for Mumbaikars," he said.

Highlighting that the coastal road's tunnel is built using advanced machinery, Shinde said the entire Coastal Road will be opened for traffic in October.

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