MMRDA to modify Mira-Bhayandar flyover after facing flak

MMRDA officials told Hindustan Times that while several safety features are already in place to guide motorists to the downward ramp, more modifications will be made at the point where the ramp meets the flyover

Mumbai: After facing sustained criticism over the design of a double-decker flyover in Mira-Bhayandar, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to carry out modifications ahead of the structure’s scheduled opening next month.

MMRDA to modify Mira-Bhayandar flyover after facing flak

The flyover at Golden Nest Junction, part of the 13.58-km Mumbai Metro 9 (Dahisar East to Mira-Bhayandar) project, has been under fire on social media over the past three days, with commuters and activists flagging safety concerns over a stretch where four traffic lanes narrow abruptly into two.

MMRDA is constructing four double-decker flyovers along the corridor, with the metro line on the upper deck and vehicular traffic below. Two of these flyovers are already operational. Of the remaining two, the Kashimira flyover is still far from completion, while the Golden Nest Junction structure is slated to open in February. It is the Golden Nest Junction flyover, built at an estimated cost of ₹100 crore, that has become the focus of the controversy.

Bhayandar-based activist Krishna Gupta has lodged a formal complaint with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who also chairs the MMRDA, and senior officials of the authority, questioning both the design and safety aspects of the flyover.

Responding to the criticism, MMRDA officials told Hindustan Times on Wednesday that while several safety features are already in place to guide motorists to the downward ramp, more modifications will be made at the point where the ramp meets the flyover.

“Already, a metal crash barrier, safety walls and signage are put in place. But as people are of the view that the spot is a potential accident-prone spot, we have started working on solutions,” said an MMRDA official.

According to officials, the proposed solution involves demolishing about 10-20 metres of the wall along the median and replacing it with kerb stones fitted with reflective delineators to improve visibility and lane guidance. “The work is unlikely to be completed within a fortnight, when it was scheduled to be inaugurated. There is a gaping hole about one metre wide at the median as both carriageways of the flyover are separate structures. This gap will have to be filled prior to laying kerb stones,” said the MMRDA official.

Apart from the flyover, MMRDA is also looking at partially opening the Metro 9 line in the first week of February, officials said. The tentative plan is to commission a 4.97-km stretch between Dahisar East and Kashigaon on February 5.

In response to questions raised by netizens and activists about the flawed design of the double-decker flyover linking Mira Road and Bhayandar, MMRDA officials issued a lengthy response. The authority said that the two ready lanes are part of the downward ramp, while the other two ramps (one on each side of the road) are part of the project’s second phase—a 970-metre extension proposed to carry the flyover across the railway tracks.