Ride on Mumbai’s SV Road to get smoother

The widening and improvement of road and sidewalks along the road will be completed by April next year, said civic officials.

Vehicle pile-ups on Swami Vivekananda Road in the western suburbs during peak hours may soon be a thing of the past, as the civic body has started to widen the road.

The widening and improvement of road and sidewalks along the road will be completed by April next year, said civic officials. (SHASHI S KASHYAP)

The widening and improvement of road and sidewalks along the road will be completed by April next year, said civic officials.

According to the Andheri (West) ward office, the 1.5km stretch from Vallabhbhai Patel Road to Milan subway will be widened by 120ft. “Motorists on this road need respite,” said assistant municipal commissioner Prashant Gaikwad.

While the road work has already begun at some spots like outside Nanavati Hospital, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sent notices to 12 property owners, including the airport authority, for land acquisition.

Umesh Bodkhe, assistant engineer of the civic maintenance department, said, “We are waiting for a response from the airport authority. Once we get that, the demolition work will start within a week.”

A policy focusing on rehabilitation and resettlement for road widening projects to avoid shifting tenants or owners to far-away locations was formulated by the BMC earlier this year.

The Irla junction is another spot where the road will be widened by 30ft. Twenty-six structures will be affected at the junction, said officials.

While residents welcome the road-widening move, they want more comprehensive plan.

Anil Desai of Juhu Citizens’ Welfare Group said, “Irla junction is a bottleneck, but illegal parking is also an issue on this road. We need proper parking spaces and regular clearing of encroachments.”

Architect PK Das said, “The congestion will only resume as the overhead metro line on SV road will take up a lane’s space again.”

MLA Ameet Satam said separate lanes would be made for autorickshaws and other vehicles outside Andheri station. “We have made separate lanes for bus, auto and four-wheelers, but there is no discipline among citizens,” said Gaikwad.