05 July,2015 09:00 AM IST | | Tanvi Deshpande
The civic body had planned five flyovers along the New Link Road, to ease traffic congestion, but MMRDA wants these proposed structures realigned, citing the present alignment of the Metro-II project
Five flyovers proposed by the BMC along the New Link Road, which would have eased traffic on the Western Express Highway (WEH) and SV Road, are now on the backburner after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) wrote to the civic body, asking for a realignment of the project.
According to a letter dated June 4, the MMRDA has asked the BMC to build the bridges across the Link Road instead of alongside, considering the alignment of the Metro-II project, which will pass through the area. The BMC maintains that the purpose of the project would be lost if realignment is considered. The total cost of the project is estimated at around R380 crore.
The BMC has proposed five flyovers along Link Road, which will benefit the Western suburbs. The flyovers are to come up at the junctions of Link Road and MG Road, Don Bosco junction, junction of Malad-Manori road and Mith chowky, one at Chincholi Bunder, and another at the junction of Bangur Nagar and Link Road.
"We first proposed these flyovers in 2013, but since Metro-II got aligned on the same route, we had to wait. First, there was no clarity on whether the Metro stations are going to be underground or elevated. Now, we have been asked to construct the bridges across Link Road.
But since that does not serve a purpose, we have to put this project on hold," said S O Kori, chief engineer of BMC's Bridges department. Kori was referring to a BMC survey done in 2014 to measure the daily traffic of the area. It had found that the traffic along the east-west link of the area is heavier than that of the north-south one.
"We are looking for alternatives," he said. Dilip Kawatkar, MMRDA spokesperson said, "We will verify the proposal and check if it is possible to implement the BMC project as well."
