Navi Mumbai, Nov. 23 -- With the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) expected to commence full-scale operations within a year, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has launched an Rs.846 crore overhaul of the Thane-Belapur Road, one of the region's most heavily used transport corridors. The upgrade, taken up under the central government's Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), will combine public expenditure with deferred contractor payments and includes three new flyovers along with a full reconstruction of the arterial stretch. The flyovers will come up at Rabale Junction (Rs.171 crore), between Crystal House and Pawne (Rs.110 crore), and from the BASF Company to the Hyundai showroom in Mahape (Rs.338 crore). In addition, a Rs.227 crore reconstruction of the main corridor is planned. One more flyover at Turbhe, long plagued by congestion near the railway station, is already under construction. "The renovation work of Thane-Belapur Road will be undertaken, which includes the renovation of the road along with three new flyovers. This decision has been taken considering the future increase in passenger and freight traffic. The process has been initiated," said NMMC city engineer Shirish Aradwad. In a parallel push, NMMC has asked the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for Rs.400 crore in funding support for the three new flyovers, half the estimated Rs.800 crore total cost. The civic body has argued that traffic has surged because of MIDC's industrial and residential approvals in the Thane-Belapur belt, and that the cost burden should therefore be shared. NMMC commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde said the proposal anticipates the mobility pressures that NMIA and growing industrial activity will bring. "Given the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport and the expansion of the MIDC area, it is necessary to plan these new flyover projects on Thane-Belapur Road from now itself. We have submitted a proposal to MIDC that it should bear the cost of these flyovers, and a letter in this regard has recently been sent," Shinde said. Thane-Belapur Road serves as the industrial spine of Navi Mumbai, connecting Airoli, Rabale, Ghansoli, Kopar Khairane and Turbhe. Over the past decade, booming industrial units, IT parks and new residential clusters have sharply increased traffic loads. The result has been longer commutes, frequent chokepoints and concerns over road safety, factors that have also affected logistics costs for industry. NMMC has framed the corridor upgrade as both a civic improvement and an economic imperative. The overhaul will address structural deterioration and persistent monsoon flooding through new drainage lines, replacement of damaged cement blocks and tree plantation where space allows. Work will be phased to limit disruption and aligned with NMIA's opening timeline. The civic body has assured that traffic management measures will be in place....