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Kherwadi flyover a hurdle to Bandtra Terminus-WEH connectivity

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The construction of the Kherwadi flyover, while giving relief to thousands of motorists on the Western Express Highway, will possibly sound the death knell for some ambitious plans to improve connectivity to Western Railway's Bandra Terminus.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and Western Railway are jointly working on plans to connect Bandra Terminus to the Western Express Highway to reduce the traffic chaos that people face while approaching the terminus using the station road on the eastern fringe of Bandra station.

Of the three plans, (see box) two plans are in trouble because of technical reasons. The Kherwadi flyover will not allow for the construction of any new pillars for the elevated connecting road envisaged under these two plans.

The first idea floated by MSRDC was to have a four-lane elevated road right from Bandra Terminus to the either side of the Western Express Highway at Cardinal Gracias High School near Kherwadi Junction. The estimated cost of this plan would have been Rs108 crore.

At Rs158 crore, the second plan of a flyover is the most expensive. It includes an elevated road running above Pipeline Road all the way till the Western Express Highway with its arms bypassing the highway to land near CST-Kalina Road in Santacruz. This would ensure seamless connectivity with the eastern suburbs via Santacruz Chembur Link Road.
The only plan that remains unaffected by the construction of the Kherwadi flyover would be the one which will see the widening of the road along the water pipelines into a 30 metre one. Though the cheapest of all the three plans at Rs6.22 crores, authorities have almost given up on widening Pipeline Road because they believe it is almost impossible to remove the slums that have overrun the pipeline and vast stretches of land alongside it for almost three decades now.
"Pipeline Road goes all the way till the highway service road almost 1.2km away but clearing the slums on its eastern edge won't be easy. In fact, the cost of rehabilitating the slum dwellers along the pipeline might be more than the amount slated for the plan. Slum clearance is something in which both railways and the state have an abysmal record and making the Pipeline Road 30 metres wide is tough," said a senior railway official.
Big plans for Bandra Terminus:
With 44 trains in a day and 14,000 passengers taking long-distance trains from Bandra Terminus and more than a lakh using the station every day, WR has big plans for the terminus including starting south-bound trains in the future. Currently the only traffic de-congestion plan that has taken taken off is the elevated two-lane road that rises from close to the Ekta Nagar area on the station road and going all the way till the Bandra Terminus building.

Plan A:

Four-lane elevated road from station road on the eastern side of Bandra Terminus to Nirmal Nagar police station, Cardinal Gracias High School and then landing on either side of the WEH south of Vakola flyover. Cost Rs108 crore

Plan B:
Four lane elevated road along and above the Pipeline Road all the way to WEH with the south-bound landing close to the CST-Kalina road.

Plan C:
Widening Pipeline Road to 30 metres to connect it to the WEH service road. It costs Rs6.22 crore
 

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