Residents push for Nepean Sea Road exit to ease Coastal Road congestion

UnlockTheExit, which describes it as an Evidence Based citizen campaign advocating for a coastal road exit at Napean Sea Road was launched on March 11 on social media platforms

MUMBAI: Residents of Breach Candy and nearby neighbourhoods have renewed their demand for a dedicated exit from the Mumbai Coastal Road to Nepean Sea Road (NSR), saying the existing traffic dispersal around the Amarsons interchange has strained the already narrow road network in the Breach Candy-Malabar Hill corridor.

Residents push for Nepean Sea Road exit to ease Coastal Road congestion

UnlockTheExit, which describes it as an Evidence Based citizen campaign advocating for a coastal road exit at Napean Sea Road was launched on March 11 on social media platforms. Campaigners say the exit could distribute traffic more evenly and reduce congestion across Breach Candy, NSR, Malabar Hill and Kemps Corner.

A presentation made by the campaigners states that traffic exiting through the Amarsons interchange goes into a dense urban corridor with narrow carriageways and heavy local activity, including ambulance services and VIP movement. Vehicles often take 30 minutes to cover a 300-metre stretch during peak hours, a resident informed HT.

The interchange serves a wide area including Breach Candy, Malabar Hill, Kemps Corner, Kalbadevi, Girgaon and Bhuleshwar. However, several road widths here are less than 10 metres and face high pedestrian activity near schools, hospitals and other institutions.

A core campaign member told HT that they had renewed the demand with much more documentation this time. For instance, the traffic projections used in the 2016 Detailed Project Report for the planning of the Coastal Road relied on base data from a 2008 Comprehensive Traffic Study and diversion estimates from a single 24-hour origin-destination survey.

The 2016 report had estimated that only 2.2% of traffic on NSR would divert to the Coastal Road. Residents, however, say that their own study conducted in September 2025 showed that nearly half the vehicles exiting the Amarsons interchange headed towards NSR or Malabar Hill. They also pointed out that earlier planning studies had recommended an exit at NSR but the proposal was not included in the 2016 project report.

The campaign proposes using a reclaimed land parcel near Embassy Apartments on NSR, currently under MSRDC, to create a one-kilometre exit from the Coastal Road’s north-south carriageway. BMC had last year requested PWD requesting that the MSRDC handover the land strip to the BMC, but the PWD hasn’t responded to it .

“The chief minister has directed authorities to examine the plan and civic officials have sought the transfer of a strip of MSRDC land to facilitate the exit, but no progress has been made so far,” said Kavita Chawla, a resident. “We are now seeking wider public support through social media campaigns.”