More lanes on WEH to be shut for metro construction, MMRDA shares traffic plan
A signboard on WEH. Picture Courtesy: Milind Acharya
As work on the city’s two new upcoming Metro project picks up pace, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Wednesday unveiled a traffic management plan to ensure smooth traffic movement on the Western Express Highway and urged Mumbaikars to co-operate with authorities.
The work on 18.6 km Metro IIA (Dahisar to D.N. Nagar) and 16.5 km Metro VII (Dahisar E to Andheri E) projects will severely affect the flow of traffic on the already congested Western Express Highway. However, over 12 lakh commuters are estimated to benefit from the projects once they are ready by 2019.
While the work on the projects began in August, major traffic restrictions will be put into place going forward. The civil work is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months.
Key announcements made by MMRDA:
# Two or three lanes on Western Express Highway will be barricaded for construction of the Metro lines.
# Over 25 crore will be spent for managing traffic on Western Express Highway and Link Road.
# 500 traffic wardens will be deployed for traffic management during the entire period.
# 42 two-wheelers and 200 walkie-talkie sets will be provided to traffic police to make coordination easier.
# Reversible traffic lane will be opened on the Western Express Highway from Shivaji Statue near Mumbai Airport to Dahisar during peak hours.
# The on-street parking will be cleared and service road will be made available for traffic movement.
# Bottlenecks will be identified on a regular basis and diversions for those routes will be planned to ease congestion.
# Extra AC buses will be pressed into service from Bandra, Andheri to Dahisar.
# 5,000 barricades and 50,000 metres of rope would be used for traffic diversions.
# 10,000 traffic cones, 300 flashers, 12 cranes would be deployed to provide logistical support to the traffic police.
MMRDA chief UPS Madan also appealed to citizens to cooperate with traffic police during the construction period.
“Please follow pooling of cars, taxis, and autos as much as possible. Use reversible lane for travel from the airport to Dahisar. Use diverted routes as per signs. Use public transport instead of privately-owned vehicles. Avoid unnecessary trips on the WEH during peak hours, and avoid parking on WEH, service roads, Linking Road, S.V. Road and roads where traffic has been diverted,” he said.
