New roads in Mumbai to decongest Mulund traffic

Location of proposed road connection to the Eastern Express Highway. Pics/Satej Shinde

Residents of Mulund East are hoping for decongestion at the entry point from the Eastern Express Highway (EEH), with a proposal to develop a new road connecting the EEH to the junction of Tata Colony road and Rajashree Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj Marg, and the Kelkar college road to the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR).

At present, there is only one entry point from the EEH to Mulund via Navghar Road, which is prone to major traffic jams during peak hours. Former corporator Prabhakar Shinde submitted a proposal to civic chief Bhushan Gagrani last week about the alternative roads. "There is a possibility to develop another road from the EEH to the Tata Colony road and Dharmaveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Marg. There is only a 90-foot-long patch between this junction and the highway. The new link will decongest the Mulund entry point," said Shinde.

Location of the proposed road from Kelkar college to GMLR

According to Shinde, he has also proposed to connect the dead-end of Kelkar college road to the GMLR near Nahur Junction. "This has been marked in the city Development Plan as a 27.45-metre road. Both sides of the road pass through saltpan land. I requested the civic chief to follow up with the state government regarding this," Shinde added.

Rahul Banwali, a resident of Mulund said, there is only one entry point from the EEH which is always clogged due to traffic. "As a result, we have to spend double the time to reach the railway station by vehicle from Navghar road. At times we reach faster on foot. The population of Mulund is increasing, as many old buildings are being redeveloped and many are due for redevelopment. Due to this, the population is increasing and the number of vehicles is increasing," Banwali said.

Mulund East resident Balkrishna Dhumne said, "If the proposed road becomes a reality, it could decongest traffic in Mulund. We are hoping the BMC will consider this proposal." As per records, Mulund East is a settlement of the Koli and Aagri communities, developed in the 1970s. Buildings having 3-4 floors came up in in the 1970s and 1980s. The area is seeing massive redevelopment. The civic chief didn't respond to messages regarding the proposal.