Two weeks on, just 43,000 cars use the Mumbai Coastal Road

In September, after the Coastal Road was opened to traffic seven days a week, data indicated that around 43,000 vehicles travel on it daily. Initially, when the Coastal Road project was proposed, it was estimated that it would accommodate 1.30 lakh vehicles per day upon completion. However, while the southbound arm connecting to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and some arms at Worli and Haji Ali are still under construction, officials believe these may not significantly impact the number of vehicles.

The 10.58-km Coastal Road, extending from the Princess Street flyover at Marine Drive to the southern end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, is almost complete, with an estimated cost of Rs 14,400 crore. During the preparation of the project report, BMC officials projected that the road would carry about 1.30 lakh vehicles on both sides once fully operational.

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When the northbound lane was opened last month, it did not significantly affect vehicle numbers. Pic/Ashish Raje

According to a BMC presentation, the forecasted Passenger Car Unit (PCU) for one-way traffic was 44,915 by 2024, expected to increase to 60,362 by 2034 and 81,122 by 2044. However, after opening both sides of the road to traffic all week, an average of 22,000 vehicles travel one way daily.

The BMC has implemented a system to count vehicles entering and exiting the twin tunnels at Marine Lines. In March, when only the southbound lane from Worli to Marine Lines was operational for 13 hours a day (7 am to 8 pm), five days a week, approximately 18,000 vehicles used the road daily, a figure that remained unchanged in April.

The route was opened on weekends starting in May, but the number of vehicles decreased slightly due to the summer vacation. In June, vehicle numbers on the southbound lane increased, and by June 11, the northbound lane was opened, though with a slow start.

In September, when the northbound lane connecting to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link was inaugurated, it did not significantly affect vehicle numbers. Last month, on average, 23,000 vehicles used the southbound route, while 21,000 used the northbound route.

"We observed that the number of southbound vehicles is slightly higher than northbound traffic. Many vehicles exited at Worli before continuing on the coastal road and connecting to the sea link. Now, vehicles use the connector. But there hasn't been much change in the northbound traffic," said a BMC official.

Although construction on the Coastal Road is not yet complete, officials believe this will not have a major impact on the PCU, as a substantial portion of the road is already finished. Another BMC official stated, "One arm at Haji Ali, five arms at Worli, and the connection of the southbound lane to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link are still under development, but these additions are unlikely to cause a significant change in vehicle numbers."

The current vehicle count is about one-third of the original projections. This is not an isolated case; the MMRDA had estimated that 1.20 lakh vehicles would use the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, but even in 2024, only 67,761 vehicles travel on it daily. Similarly, a pre-feasibility study for the road connecting Versova and Virar predicted a capacity of 60,000 vehicles per day once completed.

A senior BMC official said that the road was designed with a long-term vision: "The road is built to last for 100 years. Once the entire stretch, including the connection to Virar and interlinking roads and bridges between the east and west, is completed, the vehicular numbers will increase."

Bhushan Gagrani, the civic chief of the BMC, did not respond to calls and messages regarding the current vehicle numbers on the coastal road.

10.58KM
Length of the Coastal Road

How vehicles are counted:

BMC has installed cameras inside tunnels. The data is fed into software where the number of vehicles gets counted. There are a few errors in counting, but the numbers give an overall idea of the number of vehicles.