Bottlenecks will continue to be a reality at Malad and on the Sion Trombay Road
Bottlenecks will continue to be a reality at Malad and on the Sion Trombay Road
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Two locations on the Eastern and Western Express Highways have become bottlenecks for traffic, thanks to the half-constructed flyovers by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA). These are the Suman Nagar flyover on EEH and Kandivali flyover on WEH.
Highway hinders
The Rs 26 crore Kandivali flyover, popularly called as Times Of India flyover, is stuck because of a nullah that is just few metres away from the under-construction flyover pillars. An official from Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) that is constructing both these flyovers said, "Unless the road is widened over the nullah, we won't be able to go ahead with work. If we begin the work and barricade the road, it will become a serious traffic concern, as vehicles won't have space to move."
According to the MSRDC official, road widening has to be done by the MMRDA which looks after both EEH and WEH. Presently, a complete one lane can be added for motorists if this nullah is covered and road is widened.
However, the MMRDA refutes this allegation. S Nandargikar, Chief Engineer, MMRDA said, "We have given full permission to MSRDC to widen the road and cover the nullah."
The Rs 17 crore Suman Nagar flyover on EEH has been stuck since its inception in 2003. Mumbai Traffic police have demanded a chowkie beneath the flyover in return for a full no-objection certificate for the project. An official from MSRDC, on condition of anonymity, said, "Traffic police wants us to build a chowkie below the flyover in return for permission from their department." MSRDC will have to fund this chowkie that would cost nearly Rs 12-15 lakh.
The task of constructing this flyover will be a challenging on V N Purav Marg, popularly known as Sion Trombay road, which would require MSRDC permission from the traffic police to close this road for motorists. Sanjay Barve confirmed that the chowkie would come beneath the Suman Nagar flyover, but said, "The chowkie will be built only after the flyover is constructed." Peak hours are tough times for motorists on both these stretches and till the time these issues are sorted, traffic jams will be a regular feature.
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