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ShareMumbai: It was a free-for-all, literally speaking, on the Bandra-Worli sea link on Day 1. If morning rush hour was just about manageable, all hell broke loose in the evening with traffic spilling over from the bridge to the arterial roads. Consider that it took close to two-and-a-half hours from Worli to Bandra.
An estimated 6,000 cars plied on the bridge every hour since it opened at 7am on Wednesday. The result was that the sea link resembled any other big road in Mumbai with bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The traffic police could do little, with seemingly every motorist scrambling for the 'first day, first show', thanks to the five-day toll embargo. Road discipline was thrown into the sea, as familiesstopped on the bridge to click photographs, and several motorists took U-turns -- at least 150 motorists were each fined Rs500 for the offence.
The irony was that the engineering marvel had promised motorists a smooth drive across in just seven minutes, but that time on Wednesday went up to nearly 30 minutes.
However, hardly anyone complained. "We thought we would enjoy a speed ride, watching the sea. It didn't exactly turn out that way but the experience was pretty good. It took us 35 minutes to reach Worli from Bandra," said Bharat Purohit, a businessman.
However, the convergence of vehicles on the sea link resulted in a gridlock across half the city, with Peddar Road, the sea link feeder routes and the Andheri-Chakala road being the worst affected. "Wednesday's traffic jams across the city were partially due to the sea link. Also, the number of vehicles on the roads was higher," said a senior traffic official.
By late evening, all the roads leading to Mahim from Worli -- Gokhale, LJ and Cadell (Shivaji Park) roads -- experienced traffic snarls.
On the sea link, the traffic police tweaked a few things, learning by trial-and-error. "There were three speed retarders at the Worli exit point which resulted in four-wheelers slowing down. This resulted in traffic piling up. We removed them to clear the backlog," said S Solunkhe, deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).
Another sore patch was the beautification patch at the Worli end that obstructed traffic, observed traffic officials. "We plan to trim it on either side, which will give more space to vehicles," Solunkhe said, adding that a sharp turn and a lengthy divider at the Worli end were other causes for traffic jams. A divider at the Worli end may be removed.
It all happened On Day 1
6,000 cars plied on the bridge every hour since it opened at 7am on Wednesday.
Families and couples halted their vehicles in the middle of the bridge to take photographs. Some were even seen taking U-turns.
At least 150 motorists were fined Rs500 each for taking a U-turn
On an average, it took 30 minutes to cross the bridge instead of the promised 7.
By late evening, all roads from Worli to Bandra were packed with vehicles, causing long traffic snarls. Some people took more than two hours to reach Bandra from Worli through the arterial road.
