Mumbai: Metro work adds travel time for commuters

Slow-moving traffic at Indian Oil after the closure of road due to Metro work in DN Nagar. Pics/Satej Shinde

The ever-busy and forever-congested New Link Road, which ironically is also the shortest route for residents of Lokhandwala and Oshiwara, will have its north-bound part shut down for two months due to the erection of pre-cast elements for the DN Nagar Metro Station. This has resulted in an increase in the travel time for commuters by at least 30 minutes as they have to take a diverted route via Four Bungalows.

The road will be closed till the end of August

According to a circular released by the traffic department on Friday, this move of closing down the part of New Link Road that stretches from Indian Oil junction to Chitrakoot Grounds was done "in order to prevent any danger, obstruction, and inconvenience to the public". The circular further read that this traffic restriction had been made "for the smooth regulation of vehicle traffic" on the said road from July 1 to August 30.

Speaking with mid-day, Dhaval Shah, co-founder of the Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Residents Association (LOCA), said that the road closure has already been causing major inconvenience to commuters as it not only increases their travel [time] back home, but also forces them to take one of the most heavily congested roads at the Four Bungalows junction. In a letter written to the traffic police, LOCA pointed out that this stretch of New Link Road is used by lakhs of commuters on a daily basis. The letter says, "Shutting down this road without adequate traffic police or marshals by the Metro authorities is causing a ten-minute journey to explode to one hour." LOCA's letter further pointed out that the alternative routes listed by the traffic department had big bottlenecks "thanks to BMC working on those roads for their projects".

"Please enforce marshals on alternate routes to ease traffic flow for majority of the day, and not just sporadic presence," the letter stated, adding that there was no urgency being shown by the designated contractor in finishing the work. The letter urged authorities to complete the work a month earlier. "And put pressure on the contractor to wrap up work, as it is the rainy season during which commuting is usually a task and this shutdown is impacting lakhs of commuters."