Mumbai: The newly opened Vikhroli connector, aimed at easing East-West traffic flow, has instead become a source of daily frustration for commuters. The three-lane bridge suffers from serious design flaws, including the absence of a central median and the presence of multiple speed breakers, which have led to frequent traffic snarls.
Rather than reducing travel time, the bridge is contributing to gridlock, especially during peak hours. A senior civic official has assured that the BMC, in coordination with the Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP), is actively working on measures to address the issue.
The Vikhroli Connector, a long-awaited infrastructure project nearly 28 years in the making, was finally opened to traffic on June 14 this year. Though construction began in 2018, the project took seven years to complete.
The bridge connects the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in the east with Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Road in the west, and was intended to ease east-west traffic congestion in the area. However, instead of providing relief, the new link has created fresh traffic problems.
Heavy congestion is frequently reported at the western end, where the bridge merges with LBS Marg. During peak hours, motorists often face delays of up to 30 minutes, with traffic spilling into the opposite lane and worsening the gridlock.
A similar bottleneck has emerged at the EEH junction, access to Tagore Nagar from the EEH is available through an underpass located beneath the bridge. But many motorists take an U-turn on the bridge itself, further adding to the chaos.
Sanjay Yevle, president of the "Vikhrolikar Vikas Manch", voiced strong concerns about the new Connector, stating that residents had anticipated the issues now unfolding. “We had warned the BMC and traffic police that the bridge would create a bottleneck on the eastern side. Now, it causes heavy traffic every day,” he said.
“Also, we can’t take a U-turn to reach the station anymore, so we’re forced to take a long detour, which increases our travel time.” Yevle added that a meeting was held with BMC and traffic police officials just two days ago. “They have assured us they will resolve the mess they have created within the next eight days. Let’s see what difference they will make.”
A senior civic official acknowledged the issues and said measures are being taken to ease traffic flow. “We are removing unnecessary speed breakers to improve vehicle movement. Since constructing permanent dividers isn’t feasible at the moment, we will install temporary barricades to separate the lanes,” the official said. “This will allow two lanes to operate from east to west and one lane from west to east, helping to manage the peak-hour congestion.”
Mumbai Traffic Department's Joint Commissioner of Police, Anil Kumbhare, told the Free Press Journal (FPJ) that the newly opened Vikhroli Connector has some issues related to alignment and traffic signals. “We have requested the BMC to change the placement of the signals on the connector,” he said.
To manage the traffic flow, two lanes on the connector are kept open for vehicles in the morning, and the same lanes are reversed in the evening to accommodate outbound traffic, Kumbhare added.
