Mumbai: Goregaon's newly opened flyover fails to impress motorists

The Veer Savarkar flyover was opened for public use yesterday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Goregaon's Veer Savarkar flyover, a three-lane stretch, which is a blessing in this space-starved, (traffic) jammed city, was opened for the public by the civic body last morning. But it appears to be a slipshod, hurried job, as there are no dividers between these lanes. A supposed solution to the problem of traffic snarls at the MTNL junction, it has now worried motorists about accidents in the absence of proper demarcation between the lanes.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) took about three years to complete work on the 460-metre long stretch. And it's divider-less three lanes have come under much criticism, as many fear a head-on collision, especially during the peak-hour chaos, is just around the corner. Opening of flyovers in haste and their rough resurfacing are a couple of things the BMC has always faced flak for.

BMC's defence
Civic officials, however, said that because this flyover is narrow, it will mainly work like the Sion flyover. An official from the bridges department explained, "On the Sion flyover two lanes are for north-bound traffic during evening peak hours, and two for south-bound vehicles during morning peak hours; that's how the Goregaon one will be operated. As it is an east-west flyover, the traffic flow will be according to the peak-hour traffic."

The inauguration of the flyover was not free of drama either, with politicians leaving everything in limbo for the last two weeks by not giving time for the opening ceremony. Finally, on Thursday, Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar said that owing to the demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, there would be no ceremony, and that BMC should open the bridge for traffic. It is expected to cut down the travel time between Goregaon East and West from 45 minutes to a mere five.

Expert take
Transport expert A V Shenoy said, "BMC must ensure that it conducts a proper inspection of bridges before opening them. Often, in the rush of inaugurating, small works are postponed, and get delayed further or even forgotten after inauguration. For now, they can at least put up temporary barricades to avoid untoward incidents and appropriate division of traffic on the bridge."

Officialspeak
Sanjay Darade, in-charge of the bridges department, said, "As per our discussion with the traffic police, the three lanes will be divided 2:1. Whenever there is heavy traffic flow towards east during peak hours, two lanes will be for traffic headed there; same thing will be done whenever the traffic flow is towards west during peak hours. There are other flyovers that are narrow and work according to peak hours, Sion flyover being an example. As it was opened only today, we will review the situation and coordinate with the traffic police for assistance, if needed."

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