The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed to create a service road that would run parallel to the Eastern Freeway, which connects PD Mello Road in south Mumbai to Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in Chembur. Sources in the civic body said the initiative has been taken to declutter traffic movement and allow smooth flow of ambulance and fire brigade engines along the stretch during the time of emergencies.
Senior officials of the BMC’s roads department said the proposed service road would be four-kilometre-long and would extend between Bhakti Park in Wadala to Jeejamata Chowk. A Rs 62-crore fund has been earmarked for this project, they added.
“There is a main road beneath the Eastern Freeway flyover that extends between Daya Shankar Marg and Bombay Port Trust (BPT), adjoining which the service road will be created. Earlier, this road was maintained by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and it was handed over to the BMC after the freeway was formally opened. Therefore, we decided to create this service road since the width of the existing road was inadequate,” a senior official said.
“The road will be constructed just beneath the flyover and will run parallel to the Freeway. The current width of the existing road is 40 metre, while it should have been 60 metre generally. The Development Plan of 2034 also mandates creation of a 10-metre-wide service road alongside any main road. Due to the lack of adequate space, emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire engines face difficulties while passing through this route,” the official added.
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At present, the BMC has appointed a project consultant who would conduct a scientific survey of the area. The BMC has already floated a tender to finalise contractors for this project and currently three bidders have responded. The civic body is eyeing a 24-month deadline for this project.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-bmc-service-road-parallel-eastern-freeway-8162065/
