Mumbai: New Vile Parle flyover on WEH sustains damages 6 months after inauguration

The new Vile Parle flyover which has shown signs of deterioration/ Ranjeet Jadhav

Six months ago, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) inaugurated the new flyover at Vile Parle on the Western Express Highway (WEH). However, following a few heavy spells of rain, the road surface on the flyover has started to deteriorate, leading to an uneven driving surface.

On Friday, this correspondent observed that the road surface on a 200-250 meter stretch of the flyover had started to come apart again. The flyover was inaugurated by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, IAS, on March 9.

The flyover was constructed to improve the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Domestic Terminal (T1) Junction. MMRDA had claimed that the flyover's inauguration opens up a new and effective route to ease the movement of traffic headed towards Bandra from the International Airport T2, and from Andheri to the T1 Terminal/Vile Parle, thereby preventing traffic congestion, reducing pollution, and promoting passenger safety on the Western Express Highway.

The construction of this flyover witnessed the implementation of various innovative procedures, including the use of steel and PSC girders and a groundbreaking technique called the inverted T arrangements.

Construction work on the 790-m-long project started in June 2021 at a cost of R48.43 crore (provisional). The MMRDA decided to construct the two-lane flyover as motorists coming via the Sahar elevated road and going towards Bandra via the WEH got stuck in traffic near the domestic airport flyover signal.

With the construction of the new flyover, which is adjacent to the existing domestic airport flyover, motorists can bypass the signal.