With the onset of October, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to resume its large-scale road concretisation drive in Mumbai after a four-month monsoon break. Ahead of the rains, the civic body had dug up nearly 525 km of city roads — around 25 per cent of Mumbai’s total 2,050 km road network — for the ongoing concretisation project. The BMC has allocated a budget of Rs 177.33 billion to concretise 700 km of roads across the city. Officials said work will recommence next week, once manpower and machinery are fully mobilised after the festive season. Each year, civil and infrastructure works in Mumbai pause between June and September due to the monsoon. They resume once the official withdrawal of rains is announced. Starting this October, the BMC will begin concreting 1,350 roads spanning a combined 365.44 km. These have been divided into two major categories. In the first category, 574 roads covering 156.74 km — partially completed before the monsoon — will be prioritised for immediate completion. “Our target was to finish these roads by 31 May, but the early onset of monsoon delayed progress. Temporary asphalt layers were applied to maintain traffic flow, and these will now be replaced with concrete,” a senior civic official said. The second category comprises 776 new roads with a total length of 208.7 km, where upgradation work will begin from scratch. The target for completing these new stretches is early 2027, with substantial progress expected before the 2026 monsoon. Officials noted that the project faces several challenges — from sporadic rainfall slowing progress to local protests that sometimes disrupt work. The overall 700 km concretisation plan has been divided into two phases. The first phase covers 700 roads stretching 324 km. The second phase includes 1,421 roads totalling 377 km. As of now, 49 per cent of the total project has been completed — with 64 per cent progress in Phase I and 37 per cent in Phase II. Announced in 2022 by then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the citywide road concretisation project was initially slated for completion by early 2025. Once finished, it is expected to transform Mumbai’s road infrastructure, improving traffic flow, durability, and safety across the metropolis.