New flyover to ease East-West commute in Western suburbs
Traffic jams in the Western suburbs of Goregaon and Malad could become a thing of the past with new infrastructural initiatives planned for these prominent Western suburbs. Over 30,000 motorists will get relief with the construction of a flyover over Swami Vivekanand Road, at the MTNL junction in Goregaon (W). Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to build a flyover along the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, which connects Link Road on the West and Goregaon East on the other side, as the junction is a major bottleneck in the Western suburbs.
According to a traffic survey undertaken by the bridge department, over 30,000 vehicles use the junction which connects Goregaon and Malad, resulting in round-the-clock traffic snarls. The bridge will be constructed by the BMC at a cost of Rs 32 crore, in the next one-and-a-half years.
Goregaon-Malad belt: The new growth corridor
The Goregaon-Malad belt, considered to be the city’s newest business hub has grown exponentially in the last few years. It is well connected to the other parts of Mumbai through the Western Express Highway, Link Road, and the arterial Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road that connects the East to the West of Mumbai. Also, Goregaon and Malad lie between Andheri and Borivali, making this belt the centre of two key residential locations in the city.
The area has transformed into a retail hub with several malls in the vicinity, like Inorbit, Hypercity, Infinity and Oberoi Mall. Apart from that the sound social infrastructure of quality education, health and retail has been driving real estate in this growth corridor.
However, the presence of prominent retail and office centres in these suburbs has led to traffic woes for residents and commuters. Infrastructure growth hasn’t kept pace with real estate development and the area is in dire need of a traffic and transport overhaul.
How smoother connectivity will impact real estate
North-South is no longer the only direction in which Mumbai travels and for more and more Mumbaikars, the daily commute is increasingly East-West. The Goregaon-Malad stretch is a case in point and has been a traffic nightmare for commuters. Currently, anyone commuting to this belt — from Inorbit Mall in Malad (West) to Kotak-Infinity Park in Goregaon (East) — is caught in traffic at major junctions. The Chincholi Bunder, Inorbit Mall junction, MTNL junction and Oberoi Mall junctions witness traffic congestion especially during the peak hours, mainly due to the poor state of the road.
Redesigning the existing roads and improving the public transport system will provide tremendous relief for those travelling daily on this route. With the authorities now focusing on improving the existing infrastructure, the stretch can transform itself to become a boon for residents and real estate at large.
Government promises integration of transport systems
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has expressed his commitment to resolve traffic woes of Mumbai. He recently reviewed traffic-related issues in Mumbai and Thane in a meeting with BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte, MMRDA commissioner UPS Madan, transport commissioner Mahesh Zagade and other concerned parties.
The BMC also updated the CM on the progress of Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, one of the most ambitious projects undertaken in the city, as it aims to connect the two most important arterial roads, the Western and Eastern Express Highways. According to a vision document earlier released by the state government, the CM wants to bring down daily travel time by at least an hour and integrate all transport systems, leading to single ticket access across MMR.
