2 min readMumbaiApr 11, 2016 01:00 AM IST
First published on: Apr 11, 2016 at 01:00 AM IST
THE Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to build a rail overbridge (ROB) at Worli and another foot overbridge (FOB) near the Mahim junction as part of a plan to ease the city’s traffic woes and improve north-south connectivity.
The projects have been taken up on the basis of suggestions made in the BMC’s comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) to decongest the city’s traffic, which was placed before the civic standing committee last month.
According to officials, the ROB at Worli would ease traffic along the busy Haji Ali junction, while the FOB at the Mahim Junction — the plan is to connect it to an existing FOB — would benefit pedestrians too.
The Worli ROB will run over the railway lines between Lower Parel and Mahalaxmi stations, civic officials said. At present, vehicles coming from Jacob Circle near the Mahalaxmi Station have to travel all the way till the Haji Ali junction to go towards Worli’s E Moses Road.
“This ROB will prevent the additional traffic clogging the Haji Ali junction and provide an alternative to improve north-south connectivity,” said Additional Civic Commissioner SVR Srinivas.
“The bridges department with the civic body will soon appoint a consultant for this project,” he added.
A pedestrian survey carried out under CMP had revealed a high peak hour pedestrian traffic on both sides of Mahim’s Senapati Bapat Marg.
“The results showed peak hour pedestrian traffic to be 3,254 pedestrians per hour against a peak hour vehicular traffic of 3,525 vehicles per hour,” a source said. The plan now is to build a new FOB at the Mahim Junction and integrate it with an existing railway FOB to create a “safer route for pedestrians.”
“As the existing railway bridge provides east-west connectivity, the pedestrian flow is heavy. Many school children use the route. The new FOB will benefit pedestrians while reducing the waiting time for vehicles,” said Srinivas.
The CMP was evolved after a two-year study and is aimed at “restoring capacities of safe and effective movement of people and vehicles.”
It has suggested short-term (till 2019), medium-term (till 2024), and long-term (till 2034) reforms to improve the situation.
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