13 September,2016 07:33 PM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
MMRDA wants to brace itself for traffic woes on the Western Express Highway when construction for two metro projects picks up pace in October
The Dahisar to Andheri East elevated metro corridor will affect the traffic on the Western Express Highway
In what it claims is a move to simplify the lives of motorists, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will spend Rs 5 crore to purchase and install a traffic management system - including signage, reflectors, barricades and information boards - along the Western Express Highway and Link Road. The move is in anticipation of the congestion that is expected to happen when construction for the Dahisar to Andheri East Metro line and Dahisar to DN Nagar Metro corridor gets underway in full swing.
"We don't want the motorists traveling via the WEH and Link Road to face much inconvenience due to the ongoing construction work of both the Metro projects so all the best measures are being taken along the stretch," said MMRDA joint project director, Dilip Kawatkar.
Invited tenders
MMRDA has already invited tenders for the supply the material and clarified that the work would be done as two different packages over a period of 15 months, including monsoon. Both projects have been allocated Rs 2.4 crore each.
Post mid-October, the work on the Dahisar-Andheri east metro is expected to pick up pace as the monsoon will be over. To that end, the MMRDA, the traffic police department and the BMC have already started barricading places on the Dahisar Andheri-east metro stretch. To solve the traffic issue during peak hours, the median on the highway at a few places has also been dismantled, so that additional traffic can be diverted.
Other plans in the making
"MCGM has also shared the underground utility plans with MMRDA. To avoid more traffic-related problems, we will first identify the various utilities and thereafter begin the excavation work," a senior MMRDA official said.
The planning authority will also install no-parking boards at important locations to ensure roads are kept fully functional at all times. According to MMRDA officials, the actual diversion of traffic will be effected at a later stage.
