Gokhale Bridge closure: All alternative routes get jammed on Day 1

Andheri subway: A choked Andheri subway on Monday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The Gokhale Road bridge, which is a crucial connector between Andheri East and West, was shut for traffic from midnight on Sunday. Predictably, all alternative routes were chock-a-block on Monday morning.

A journey that used to take 30 minutes now takes a full 50 minutes to an hour.

Also read: Nightmare begins: Gokhale bridge to be shut from today

SV Road: Heavy traffic on SV Road, as motorists head for Captain Vinayak Gore Flyover, on Monday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Food delivery executives and auto rickshaw drivers have raised concerns about losing income because of the congestion.

The traffic police had suggested six alternative routes, but only two of them are closest for motorists travelling from the east to the west - Andheri subway and Captain Vinayak Gore Flyover in Vile Parle.

Commuters complained of heavy traffic jams at the Andheri subway, on Monday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Meanwhile, BEST bus numbers 389 and 308 ply from New Nagardas Marg, which is the approach road to Andheri subway. With the Gokhale bridge's traffic being diverted to this route, there was a huge traffic jam on Monday. Requesting anonymity, the bus driver said it took them more than 30 minutes to travel the distance, which is usually covered in 10-15 minutes.

The executives of app-based food delivery providers were among the hundreds of people affected by the traffic chaos. Hanumant Shinde, who delivers food to Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari, was stuck in a jam at Andheri subway for more than 30 minutes. "Customers get angry if the delivery is delayed, and this affects our ratings. Moreover, due to the traffic congestion, I am making fewer deliveries today compared to other days. If this persists, our income would be affected."

Hanumant Shinde; Sajid Sheikh; Santosh Wankhade; Lallan Singh

Sajid Sheikh, another delivery executive who travelled via Captain Vinayak Gore Flyover on other days, said, "It usually takes just 10-12 minutes to cross this bridge. But, today it has taken double the time. Even though I was on a bike, I faced difficulties navigating the bridge."

Santosh Wankhade, who takes a BEST bus to travel to Andheri East via the subway, decided to walk to work on Monday after "seeing endless traffic jams in the morning".

Auto rickshaw driver Lallan Singh fears losing business now, as people are hesitant to hire autos fearing the meter would skyrocket because of long traffic jams. "Commuters are avoiding taking auto rickshaws because of the traffic congestion. It usually takes 15 minutes to cross the Captain Vinayak Gore Flyover. Today it took twice as long," said Singh.
"All the internal roads around Andheri and Vile Parle are frozen because of traffic. Very soon we will lose our income," said an auto rickshaw driver.

A commuter, Ashish Nair, travels to Andheri-Kurla Road from Versova in about 35-45 minutes. "However, today's journey took more than 1 hour and 30 minutes. There is a need to deploy more traffic cops to manage the movement of vehicles properly," Nair said.