The Vashi Bridge, also known as Thane Creek Bridge or the Second Thane Creek Bridge, is a road bridge across Thane Creek, which connects the city of Mumbai to the Indian mainland at Navi Mumbai. Opened in 1997, the bridge links the suburb of Mankhurd in Mumbai with Vashi in Navi Mumbai, the satellite city of Mumbai. It is one of four entry points into Mumbai (the other three being the Airoli Bridge upstream across Thane Creek, Mulund, and Dahisar), and handles traffic directed towards the region to the south and east of Mumbai.
The bridge replaces the first Thane Creek Bridge, built in 1973, which still stands to the north of the current bridge, but is closed to traffic. A third bridge is currently under construction and is expected to open in August 2024.
There is also a railway bridge to the south of both road bridges.
History
300px|thumb|Vashi Bridges, old (TCB-1) and new (TCB-2)
First bridge
In 1959, a study group for Greater Bombay, headed by S.G. Barve, proposed constructing a rail-cum-road bridge, over the Thane Creek in order to expand industrial development areas and accommodate the.city's growing population. In the 1960s, civil engineer Adi Kanga and others proposed building Navi Mumbai to help decongest Mumbai.
The first bridge, conceived by Adi Kanga, was opened in 1973. The bottom side of the prestressed girders of some spans developed corrosion cracks within two years of the bridge opening to traffic.This led to a series of extensive repairs, including external prestressing. The railway bridge was opened on 9 May 1992.
The first bridge is currently closed to traffic.
Second bridge
The Thane Creek Bridge 2 (TCB-2) was proposed in 1987 to replace the first bridge. The bridge was built by the U.P. State Bridge Corporation and opened to traffic in 1995.
NRS AS, a manufacturer specializing in comprehensive bridge construction equipment, provided the U.P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd. with a total of 12 pairs of 'BRIDGEBUILDER' FORMTRAVELER (BB FT) equipment specially designed for Free Cantilever Construction. These supplied BBFT units belonged to the 'Type II-A12-51' category, boasting impressive specifications:
- Load Capacity (Tons): 156
- Maximum Road Width (meters): 3.35
- Maximum Box Width (meters): 7.5
- Maximum Segment Length (meters): 5
Third bridge
The Thane Creek Bridge 3 (TCB-3) was proposed in 2012. It will consist of two separate 3-lane bridges constructed on either side of TCB-2. The third bridge will have a main span and of approach roads.
Work was scheduled to begin in September 2018, however, it was delayed by permissions required to cut down an estimated 430 mangroves across . The Bombay High Court granted permission for construction in January 2020. Works were also delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction began on 29 October 2020. Around 15% of the total project work had been completed by April 2022, The bridge was expected to open in August 2024. As of June 2025, the bridges of both the ways are thrown open to the traffic.
Bridge locations
The old bridge lies just to the north of the present Vashi Bridge, and the railway bridge further south (labelled "Mankhurd Vashi Railway Bridge"), can be seen on the map.
The Airoli Bridge is further upstream across Thane Creek, while the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is further south.
See also
- List of longest bridges in the world
- List of longest bridges above water in India
- Vikhroli-Koparkhairane Link Road