Mumbaiites, your ride is set to get smooth as two highways will be repaired from December
If you take the city’s two main arterial roads — the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and the Western Express Highway (WEH) — to commute between your home and work, your travel is set to take a smooth turn. The reason: the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will start removing paver blocks from various crossings and relay them with mastic asphalt from December.
Senior officials said that they are in process of preparing estimates and issuing tenders for the work. The 26.2-km WEH stretches from Dahisar toll naka to Bandra, while the 23.5-km EEH starts from Mulund toll naka to Sion. They were riddled with potholes and bad patches this monsoon.
MMRDA, which recently acquired both the highways, is yet to take a call on resurfacing them.
Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA said, “We will start removing paver blocks in December. We are still discussing about the resurfacing of both the roads. However, all work will be completed well before the monsoon.”
Mastic asphalt is a durable surfacing material and suitable for the busiest roads. Motorists have long complained about paver blocks as they slow down traffic. In 2016, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to stop using paver blocks at junctions and arterial roads.
A senior official from MMRDA, who did not wish to be named, said the EEH and WEH each have 10 to 15 junctions with paver blocks on the north- and south-bound sides. The roads will be repaired at night to not hamper traffic, said the official.
The official said, “We have plans to strengthen the roads at various places. But we are yet to take a call on the material to be used for to increase their durability.”
The WEH, the road is already facing traffic snarls between Andheri and Dahisar owing to the construction of the Metro corridor .Work on the Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali (Metro 4), a portion of which will pass through the EEH, is also expected to cause traffic trouble on the road connecting the rest of the city to the eastern suburbs.