Mumbai flyover extension to help decongest traffic on major arterial road

The Mrinaltai Gore flyover, which currently is 1.2-km-long, connects Western Express Highway to SV Road in Goregaon. An 840-m long extension on it will now connect SV Road with New Link Road

Two years on, the Mrinaltai Gore flyover at Ram Mandir will now be extended up to the New Link Road in Goregaon, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) standing committee gave its nod to the plan on Friday.

The project extension is expected to cost ₹209 crore. (HT Photo)

The flyover, which currently is 1.2-km-long, connects Western Express Highway to SV Road in Goregaon and was inaugurated in May 2016. With the permission, the authorities will now build an 840-m long extension connecting the SV Road end to the New Link Road. The project will cost ₹209 crore. The extension, which is expected to decongest SV Road that witnesses heavy traffic, is expected to be ready in two years.

The earlier design for the 840-metre arm of the flyover was cancelled after municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta rejected the proposal. The problem was the piers on the road would have taken too much space, which, in turn, would have taken extra space on the already congested SV Road. The civic body has now reduced the number of pillars supporting the bridge and their width, said a senior civic official from the bridges department.

Sandeep Patel, local BJP corporator, said, “The work on the already planned extension was stopped for two years. Why was the feasibility of the project not checked properly before starting the project? This extension will give major relief to motorists plying towards the link road, as they can now avoid traffic signals and enter Goregaon from the Western Express Highway. However, this project should have been completed two years ago.”

This is not the first delay involving the construction of this flyover.

The flyover was to be completed by 2012 originally, at a cost of ₹250 crore. However, it was completed only in May 2016, by which time its cost had escalated to around ₹450 crore.