MMRDA boosts underground, elevated roads for easy travel

Mumbai: Road transport infrastructure has received a shot in the arm with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority allocating Rs 3,500 crore for projects that are aimed at easing congestions and making travel shorter for around 3 lakh vehicles in and around the city. 

    These plans, especially an underground tunnel at the BKC and a Worli-Sewri elevated road, might not be as big as the Metro or the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, but they would be sure steps towards mitigating Mumbaikars' road travails, said officials. 
    The ventures will add another 10 km to the city—in the form of underground tunnels and elevated roads—and over 60 km beyond Mumbai limits. 
    MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana said their aim was to decongest roads and boost the transportation system, keeping in mind upcoming and future developments. "We decided to be more realistic in our approach than being pompous about big-ticket projects. We hope that this new strategy will , in another two to three years, bring relief to the city's motorists saving them time as well as fuel, besides cutting down on the pollution level," said Asthana. 
    According to officials, among the proposals, the BKC tunnel and the Worli-Sewri elevated road will be the most important for the city. A 4.5-km stretch, the Worli-Sewri elevated road will be the first eastwest direct connector in south Mumbai that will cut down on the distance, as motorists will no longer have to take the existing circuitous routes. Those availing of the flyover can bypass congested pockets in Dadar, Parel and Sion. The BKC tunnel will be the first underground stretch in the city meant for vehicles. The tunnel, which will start near the family court in the BKC, will come out at Kherwadi on the Western Express Highway. From the Kalanagar junction, the tunnel will have another branch towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link or Bandra (W). This, officials said, would help motorists avoid the huge snarl at the Kalanagar junction altogether. 
    Besides these two plans, Asthana said the administration was considering reviving an elevated-road connectivity between the Eastern Express Highway and the BKC that was shelved three years ago. Experts were also deciding if a tunnel or a flyover would best ease the traffic at the busy JVPD Circle in Andheri. 
    Some of the projects shortlisted for outside the city are: creating four lanes on the Goa National Highway between Panvel and Palaspe Phata, flyovers at Rajnoli and Mankoli on Bhiwandi bypass, a road from Dombivli to Mankoli with a creek bridge in between, a ring road in Kalyan and Badlapur and a bridge over Vasai creek.