The freshly packaged proposal for a direct road connecting Bandra station with Western Express Highway (WEH) was in the 1991-2011 Development Plan (DP) and is also included in the 2014-2034 DP, Asif Zakaria, former corporator from Bandra H-West ward has said. “The BMC should have already been working on it. It is an established fact that it will ease connectivity as both SV Road and the Lucky Junction would be decongested,” he said.
The plan was discussed at a recent meeting between civic chief Bhushan Gagrani and Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar. The existing route involves navigating three traffic signals up to WEH, a situation that is exacerbated by the increasing volume of traffic. Shelar said that the new road will be a game-changer.
Alan Abraham, an urban planner from Bandra said that the missing arm in the Bandra flyover connection with the sea link was a major design flaw. “There are many missing roads that need to be planned soon. The road connecting the station with WEH will help redistribute the traffic. As there is only one way right now, the load is concentrated at the Lucky Junction.”
Abraham said there are many road plans, but the government’s focus is on large projects rather than DP roads. “If we had more DP roads, the city would have more space. Surprisingly, the BMC itself made the plan, which should be looked at holistically. Unlike flyovers, DP roads are on the ground and accessible to everyone: pedestrians, cyclists, BEST or private buses. Flyovers are limited to four-wheelers,” he said.
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The move has also been welcomed by residents and activists. Ria Desai, a Bandra resident, said, “The traffic chaos here is a daily nightmare, with motorists facing potholed roads, encroachments, and narrow lanes. Every lane in the area is dug up. A new road would be a great relief to address these issues.”
Another resident from Hill Road praised the initiative, saying, “The current route is a bottle-neck, with motorists often taking 30 minutes to cross the Lucky Hotel junction. For four-wheelers it is a bigger challenge. This new road can significantly reduce travel time and improve traffic flow.”
To implement the project, BMC will need nearly 1,347 sq mt of BEST depot land and 1,897 sq mt of civic garage plot where solid waste vehicles are repaired. The SRA plot will also be used for the redevelopment of the area.
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At the meeting, another key project discussed was the construction of a new sports complex on the plot at Sherly Rajan. “This initiative aims to provide state-of-the-art sports facilities for residents, promoting physical fitness and community engagement.,” said Shelar.
Another project discussed was the construction of a new road leading to Kadeshwari in Bandra West, to reduce traffic congestion at the Lilavati Junction, a notorious bottleneck. Other projects discussed were handing over the maintenance of the Worker Welfare Centre in the Nare Park Grounds of Parel to the Parel Department Public Ganeshotsav Mandal.