The purpose of the Rs 200-crore Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) extension appears to have been defeated, with traffic congestion occurring at the spot where an arm of the connector meets the Western Express Highway (WEH) during peak hours. When this reporter recently took a test drive via the connector during the evening peak hours, he, too, was stuck in a sea of traffic.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has faced criticism for this snag, with motorists terming the connector a textbook case of improper planning. On March 26, mid-day, in the report ‘SCLR extension to ease travel but may create bottleneck on WEH’ highlighted concerns that the landing point on the northbound carriageway of WEH could become a bottleneck.