The Hindu Business Line : Bandra-Worli sea link may not end Mumbai’s traffic woes

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Bandra-Worli sea link may not end Mumbai’s traffic woes

Rahul Wadke

Mumbai, June 28 The Bandra-Worli sea link will be inaugurated on Tuesday. It could come as the best piece of news to car and bus commuters in Mumbai as the 10-km stretch sometimes takes up to an hour to cross on a busy weekday.

According to the State Government, the average travel time between Bandra flyover and Love Grove Junction, Worli is expected to be cut drastically from 35 minutes (in ideal conditions) to just eight minutes.

However, a section of transport planners believes that the traffic congestion could actually worsen because of the link.

Sources in the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the body responsible for building the bridge, indicated that the top management is worried about traffic management issues at the Worli-end of the link.

However, Mr Satish Gavai, Vice-Chairman of MSRDC, told Business Line that the corporation does not anticipate any traffic jam at Worli. His inference has been based on traffic police studies.

Points of congestion

Ms Beena Balakrishnan, planner and author of many papers/studies on Mumbai’s transportation system, has a different view.

“The bridge is designed such that vehicles approaching Worli will slow down and turn left for the exit. They will then have to reduce speed further while negotiating the turn and even while exiting (from the bridge) use the roundabout at Worli. This, in turn, acts as a check on speed,” she says. “I anticipate at least three points of congestion while exiting from the bridge. For the motorist, it would be an ‘expensive detour’ as they have to pay toll (Rs 50 one-way). The time gained driving at 50 kmph on the sea link would be lost in the jams,” Ms Balakrishnan says.

Even if the bridge is extended to Nariman Point eventually, it will only aggravate the problem as the business district is still a congested zone with little parking space, she adds.

“Today, global transportation planning stresses more on mass transport systems such as railways. But our planners’ thinking is still based on road-based solutions. Therefore, we are implementing the 1960s Wilbur Smith report, which had envisaged the sea link for the first time. Adding more bridges cannot solve the traffic problems of Mumbai,” Ms Balakrishnan says.

Well-known transport planner, Mr Arun Mokashi, believes that motorists will face traffic jams especially at Worli. He is convinced that Mumbaikars will benefit only when the bridge is extended to Nariman Point.

In 1994, consultants WS Atkins had recommended to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority that Bandra and Nariman Point be connected by a rail bridge, which would run parallel to the current sea link. The rail link would go on till Nariman Point and then connect to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus via an underground tunnel running through Madame Cama Road.

As a Tata Consultancy Services domain expert, Mr Mokashi had undertaken a pre-feasibility study of the rail link as in 1996 a part of the environment impact analysis for the Bandra-Nariman Point sea link.

He said that a sea bridge (which he refers to as the West Island Rail Link) would provide an additional mass transportation corridor to Mumbai city. It will be an environmentally-friendly proposal and be a safer and faster mode of transportation.

Dr P.C. Sehgal, Managing Director of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, says that such a rail link on the high sea is technically feasible and a must for Mumbai. The rail link can be further extended up to Bhayandar with halts at Versova and Borivali.

“Passengers could drive their cars to the railway stations, which will also double up as a car park. The idea is to take the train and arrive at the offices in Nariman Point in absolute comfort,” he says.

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