Flyover may shut Pedder Road for 3 years…….Chittaranjan Tembhekar
Locals Reject MSRDCs Alternative Routes To Tide Over Fallout Of Proposed Plan
Locals Reject MSRDCs Alternative Routes To Tide Over Fallout Of Proposed Plan
Mumbai: If the preliminary estimation by the states infrastructure and traffic wings is anything to go by,Pedder Road will have to be closed for at least three years to pave the way for the construction of the 4.2-km flyover between Lala Lajpat Rai College near Haji Ali and Wilson College near Girgaum Chowpatty.
However,the residents are convinced that the chaos that may ensue will set the deadline back by another six months.Experts said the Kemps Corner flyover alone will take 18 months to be razed, said Veena Singhal,chairperson of Pedder Road Residents Association.
Allaying the residents fear,state agencys experts said they would require 18 months to raise the pillars and another 18 months to complete the construction of the flyover.The authorities will ensure that project will not miss the deadline as the stretch is a major artery, said an official.The traffic police recently submitted a plan to the MSRDCwhich will build the proposed flyover for around Rs 250 crore-suggesting diversion routes if Pedder Road is shut.It mainly talks about two alternative routes,one leading to Churchgate and the other to CST.However,residents are not too sure that the diversions would help.In a letter to J M Mausker,secretary to the Union ministry of environment and forests,they stated that Dr Ambedkar Marg and P DMello Marg,two arterial roads that are crucial for the north-south traffic,are already being widened. PRRA president R Ajoomal asked,How and from where do the authorities propose to divert the vehicles if all the arterial roads are taken up for construction at the same time The two right-angle turns,one from Patkar Marg onto Babulnath Lane and the other from Babulnath Lane onto Chowpatty will slow down vehicles to 15 kmph and will also cause snarl along the flyover route.Similar would be the scene at Nana Chowk,Warden Road,Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill areas, one of the residents said.
Probably those who stay along Pedder Road may get special passes for their vehicles, said an official.The MSRDC has announced a public hearing by February.