In 2 yrs, a flyover to link Western Express Highway to Link Road

Mumbaikars will soon be able to travel from the Western Express Highway to Link Road without as many hurdles as they face today, with the city authority deciding to extend the Mrinaltai Gore flyover from Ram Mandir Road to Relief Road along SV Road in Goregaon (West).

The 840-metre-long flyover is expected to be operationalised in the next two years. The flyover will allow motorists to skip three traffic signals and cut travel time by at least 20 minutes.

"There is traffic congestion due to the signals and the flyover will end this woe," said S O Kori, chief engineer of BMC's bridge department.

The three traffic signals are located at Ram Mandir, SV Road and Relief Road junctions.

"We have invited tender for construction of the flyover that will connect Western Express Highway straightaway to Link Road in Goregaon directly in the western suburbs," Kori said.

He added that a pre-bid meeting will be held on June 5 and the tender process will be completed by the end of June.

The flyover was initially planned to be completed in 2012. But due to design issues, the proposal was put on hold. Senior civic officials including the civic chief visited the site before giving the project their go-ahead.

Concerns were raised that a pillar of the bridge on SV Road might increase traffic. So the design was changed and the bridge department reduced the width of the flyover, to 15.5 metre.