MSRDC will invite tenders and requests traffic police department to suggest an alternate diversion route for motorists
Ten years ago, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) planned the Peddar Road flyover — a 4.3-km stretch connecting Haji Ali junction to Girgaum Chowpatty passing via the arterial Peddar Road — only to face strong opposition from local residents. Now, after a decade, this project is likely to see the light of day as the MSRDC plans to invite tenders for the construction. The project will take four years to complete.
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In a meeting between the traffic police department and the MSRDC last week, the MSRDC has requested the traffic police department to suggest an alternate diversion route for motorists. Presently, the narrow lanes choke Peddar Road with traffic jams during peak hours. Construction on this already narrow stretch is likely to worsen the traffic condition. “The traffic police will have to do a lot of research before providing an alternative route for vehicular traffic,” says an MSRDC official, on condition of anonymity. “We have requested the traffic police department to prepare an alternate diversion route for the motorists. Once we get the route plan, we will invite the tenders,” said MSRDC Chief Engineer S Nandargikar. However, the MSRDC official, on condition of anonymity, confessed that the construction of this flyover is no easy task. “The residents of this densely-populated area will face a lot of problems when the construction activity will close the road.”
In July last year, the MSRDC organised a public hearing, which ended midway after the local resident groups and members of political parties got into verbal clashes.u00a0