Mumbai: BMC Plans 15-Km-Long Elevated Corridor To Ease Congestion On Western Express Highway

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) intends to build an elevated corridor utilising cable-stayed bridges in order to address the ongoing congestion issue on the Western Express Highway and facilitate seamless vehicular flow between Mahim and Dahisar.

This ambitious access control project is being implemented on the directions of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

With an estimated budget of approximately Rs 5,500 crore, the project aims to construct elevated corridors spanning a distance of 15.3 km. The highway's length is about 25 km.

To implement this project, the BMC will need to dismantle certain existing flyovers in order to accommodate the construction of cable-stayed bridges.

The process will help create additional space below the structures and enable creating additional lanes spanning the entire 25.33 km length of the highway.

Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu stated that the project's tender process will commence after the completion of a detailed project report (DPR) and government approval, with an estimated project duration of four years, according to reports.

The preparation of the DPR is expected to be completed within the next five to six months.

Proposed Concept For The Elevated Corridor

The concept plan, formulated by a consultant after conducting a comprehensive techno-economic feasibility study — considers future traffic forecasts, existing and planned infrastructure projects along with the integration of pedestrian-friendly facilities.

Presently, the highway consists of five lanes in each direction, supplemented by service roads covering approximately 50 per cent of its total length.

However, the highway experiences significant traffic volume ranging from 220,000 to 380,000 passenger car units (PCU) per day, with peak traffic exceeding 10,000 PCU at various junctions, leading to severe congestion at multiple locations, reports Times of India.  

The proposed concept design outlines a 15.3 km elevated corridor connecting Mahim and Malad. This corridor is divided into three to four sections, each supported by long single-pier cable-stayed bridges.

Each flyover is expected to span multiple junctions. Underpasses will come up at junctions including Kala Nagar, JVLR and Aarey.

In terms of lane distribution, the concept design suggests that the bridges will have a total of eight lanes. The road below and adjacent to the bridges will either accommodate six or eight lanes, resulting in a combined number of 14 or 16 lanes on both sides of the carriageway, as per TOI report.

Barriers to segregate traffic between these long flyovers will be part of the project.

"To overcome the problem of cross-direction traffic, underpasses will be built at various junctions and bottlenecks," as per an official.

The concept design is tentative and may undergo changes after the DPR is prepared.