Mumbai, Nov 22 (IANS): Marred by delays and controversies, the crucial road link -- Delisle Road bridge -- will be fully inaugurated for traffic on Thursday, a civic official said here on Wednesday.

State ministers Deepak Kesarkar and Mangal Prabhat Lodha, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner I.S. Chahal, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant and MLAs Aditya Thackeray and Sunil Shinde, BJP MLAs Ashish Shelar and Rajhans Singh, plus other top BMC officials shall be present on the occasion.

The bridge, which was closed in 2017, will provide much-needed connections towards Lower Parel and Ganpatrao Kadam Marg in both directions, speeding up traffic towards south Mumbai and easing congestion on the route.

Multiple lanes in both directions, plus an additional lane on the new bridge is expected to significantly smoothen the flow of traffic, and the additional space below will also help quicken pedestrian movement.

The BMC also plans to construct four new staircases and add two escalators for the bridge soon, said an official.

Last week, the bridge ran into a political fracas after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray, MLAs Sachin Ahir and Shinde, plus two former Mayors, Kishori Pednekar and Snehal Ambekar, were booked by the Mumbai Police for allegedly performing an ‘illegal inauguration’ of the bridge.

On Tuesday, Thackeray pleaded with the civic authorities to throw the bridge open for traffic as it is ready since nearly a fortnight and was allegedly being delayed as VIPs were not available for the inauguration, and to "satisfy the ego" of the current state government.