Work on BKC-Sealink flyover to begin by 1st week of June, expect traffic snarls at Kalanagar
Work on the flyover is expected to start by the first week of June (Kalanagar Junction, Picture Courtesy: bmwguggenheimlab.org)
Motorists might have to brace for traffic snarls and longer queues at Kalanagar junction in Bandra East from June as MMRDA plans to start work on the flyovers that will decongest the traffic-prone area.
The project was awarded to Simplex Infrastructure Ltd back in October 2016. However, the construction work got delayed as it was in the way of the proposed DN Nagar-Mankhurd Metro 2B corridor.
MMRDA now plans to begin the construction work for the 1.6 km long flyover, that will connect the Bandra end of Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) with Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) at Kalanagar junction, from the first week of June.
The junction sees massive traffic snarls during peak hours due to the high volume of traffic converging from five directions – WEH, Kalanagar, BKC, Dharavi and the sealink.
According to an MMRDA study, approximately 12,000 vehicles pass through the Kalanagar junction every hour.
As a result, and despite the presence of traffic officials, motorists might have to face delays as a stretch of the already busy junction will be out of bounds while the construction work is underway.
The planning body had decided to decongest the area by building three flyovers that would connect BKC, Dharavi, BWSL and Western Express Highway (WEH). Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the project during his visit to the city in December last year.
However, the project got delayed as the plans for the flyover overlapped with the alignment of Metro 2B. The alignment of the flyover is now being tweaked to ensure it can co-exist with the metro corridor.
“The consultant of Metro 2B is to provide the design for the combined structure and the whole design is being revised. These should be completed in the coming eight to 10 days and after that we will start the construction,” said UPS Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA.
The Kalanagar decongestion project was approved with a deadline of 30 months and a proposed cost of Rs 164 crore.
