Elphinstone bridge may get 2 extra lanes

Following complaints of heavy traffic and rampant traffic jams from commuters, the Elphinstone bridge — which connects Senapati Bapat Marg in Dadar (west) to Dr Ambedkar marg in Dadar (east) — may now be converted into a four-lane bridge. The bridge has only two lanes.

Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta has asked the bridges and traffic department to conduct a survey of the bridge and submit a report on the feasibility of widening this bridge. Mr Mehta took a tour of the area on Tuesday morning, and suggested a slew of measures to make commute easier in the clogged Parel-Lower Parel-Dadar-Elphinstone area.

Chief engineer of the bridges and traffic department S.O. Kori has been asked to submit a report about how the Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner (BMC) can widen the two-lane bridge. A senior civic official said, “We have been brainstorming about the solutions to manage traffic on the flyover. Since it connects two major railway stations, heavy traffic on the road is expected. We are unsure about whether we will completely demolish the existing bridge and make a new one, or prop two extra lanes parallel to the existing road.”

The bridge connects the Elphinstone railway station on the Western suburban train line, and the Parel railway station on the central suburban railway line. These two stations cater to lakhs of people every day, as they are around important places in the city such as Tata Memorial, Wadia, KEM, and Gandhi Hospital, along with serving the areas of Worli and Prabhadevi which do not have railway stations of their own.

Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Mehta said, “The report will decide only on the feasibility of such a project. When I visited the area I found it to be extremely clogged. Something needs to be done to ease the traffic.”