Two new roads on the anvil to ease traffic at Malad station

Speaking to reporters on January 4, Goyal said that the work is expected to begin within 3-4 months. “The two new roads will significantly ease traffic for Malad residents and work on the project is progressing fast,” he added.

These perpendicular lanes will provide direct access to the railway station, improving traffic flow and pedestrian movement.

In what further compounds the traffic woes in the area, the narrow roads are also plagued with issues of illegal hawking, encroachments, and unauthorised parking.

The lanes leading up to Malad’s railway station currently clock a footfall of 8,268 passengers per hour alongside heavy vehicular flow during peak hours, a study by IIT Bombay, who had been roped in to conduct a survey on P/north ward’s arterial road, has found. In what further compounds the traffic woes in the area, the narrow roads are also plagued with issues of illegal hawking, encroachments, and unauthorised parking. It was to boost connectivity and reduce burden of the existing lanes that the civic body floated plans to construct to the new arterial roads.

While one road will pass near Somayya Chambers, the other will run alongside Malad Shopping Centre. Structures along these routes will be removed following due legal process.

“Once established, the two proposed roads will provide additional access for travellers heading from Malad station to S V road and vice versa. Gradually, the construction of these links will also distribute traffic along the other routes, which will aid in reducing travel time and enhance efficiency,” a senior official told The Indian Express.

The civic body is also planning to widen the existing arterial roads leading to the railway station that include Anand Road, Kasturba Road, Ishwarlal Parekh Road and Sainath Road. Officials have identified the encroachments along these routes that are being cleared for the project.