New traffic signal at Jogeshwari flyover causing major traffic jams

WEH-JVLR junction

It's not just the uneven surface of the newly-opened Jogeshwari Rail over Bridge (ROB) that is causing inconvenience to motorists. During peak evening hours, say commuters, the traffic coming towards Jogeshwari West from Vikroli via JVLR, is leading to patience-defying traffic jams.

Traffic has been lining up for 1.5 kms on the west-bound stretch of JVLR, at the junction of the Western Expressway-JVLR starting point and Vijay Salaskar Park. The reason, say commuters, is that earlier there were three traffic signals at the WEH-JVLR junction that the motorists had to wait at. Now, with the opening of the ROB, there is a fourth.

After the JVLR Rail Over Bridge connecting Jogeshwari East and West was inaugurated by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on September 10, it was expected that the bridge would prove a boon to motorists taking the JVLR and driving towards Jogeshwari via JVLR. However, it's only proving beneficial during non-peak hours.

On Thursday night, this paper had visited the area at 11.30 pm, and witnessed a huge traffic jam. The situation was a shade better on Friday since the traffic police department had posted more constables along the stretch.

Shreepad Gawde, a resident of Greenfield building in Jogeshwari East, said, "I was waiting for the ROB to open so that I could reach my office in Andheri West with ease, but it is inconvenient. It takes me more than an hour to reach the WEH-JVLR junction from home thanks to bumper to bumper traffic. This 1.5 km distance usually took me half an hour." The residents and other motorists also feel that the signal stoppage time should be reduced depending on traffic flow.