Traffic jam on Western Express Highway as crowd gathers to wish Thackeray on birthday

Officers in the traffic control room said vehicles were getting stuck at Kalanagar junction and on the road leading to Matoshree.

As Shiv Sena leaders and well-wishers dropped in to wish Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on his birthday at his residence in Kalanagar, Bandra (east), on Friday, Mumbai’s Western Express Highway saw a huge traffic jam.

Traffic jam on the Western Express Highway at Kherwadi, Bandra, on Friday. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Commuters complained that it took them more than one hour around 12 noon to cross Santacruz and reach Bandra.

Officers in the traffic control room said vehicles were getting stuck at the Kalanagar junction and on the road leading to Matoshree, Thackeray’s home.

“We are trying to clear the traffic,” said a traffic officer, who did not wish to be named.

The closure of the Lower Parel road overbridge has also affected traffic heading to Prabhadevi. “Senapati Bapat Marg is congested too due to the closure of ROB as traffic spills over to that road,” the officer added.