Mumbai: The traffic preparations have begun amid the demolition of the Sion Road Bridge, which is scheduled for next week. With the closure of the crucial Sion RoB, which primarily joins the eastern and the western suburbs, motorists and experts were in splits about the traffic congestion that would occur. Assuring minimal inconvenience, the Mumbai Traffic Police says they are ready for action.
According to police sources, part one of the preparation includes the deployment of as many traffic wardens as possible at all the routes where the load of Sion RoB is expected. This mainly includes the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, the Sulochana Shetty Marg, and the Chunabhatti-BKC Connector. These routes are also those where the traffic would be diverted from Sion RoB.
Several traffic divisions fall on these routes, including Mahim, Matunga, Chunabhatti, BKC, Chembur, etc, and all of the divisions – per – would get at least 50 to 60 traffic wardens. Before the NOC from the traffic regarding the demolition, we had asked for additional manpower. Only after it was sanctioned, the NOC was signed by us (traffic), said police sources.
At Matunga traffic division itself, 60 traffic wardens would be deployed who would be stationed from Sion Circle up to the entire Dr BA Road, which falls under their jurisdiction. Dr BA Road, again a crucial road, post the demolition, needs to maintain a smooth flow of traffic. In case it doesn’t, the backlog traffic may impact from Dharavi towards the east and the south of the city.
Hence, the second part of the preparation is to have a smooth flow. We need a clean and clear Dr BA Road, which is wide enough to take additional vehicles. The problem is the parking. Dr. BA Road has several residential areas, hence they park their vehicles. To avoid this, Dr BA Road and the Sulochana Shetty Marg (going towards Dharavi) would be made a no-parking zone for everyone strictly. In the first 7-8 days (post demolition) with the assistance of the traffic warden, the flow of traffic would be surveyed, at Dr BA Road. In case the flow is controlled, we would make some flexibility for parking as there are several residential buildings. If not, both will remain no-parking zones, said the source.
For west-to-east and vice-versa travelling motorists, vehicles would be diverted to the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road via Kurla, which joins the Eastern Express Highway and the already choked route – the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg. The second reroute is a diversion from the Sion Hospital area, ahead of the Sion ROB, via the Sulochana Shetty Marg that connects to Dr. BA Road to Kumbharwada in Dharavi. The third reroute for motorists is to take the Chunabhatti- Bandra Kurla Complex connector. The drawback of the third route is that no two-wheelers and three-wheelers are allowed on it.
The last strand of hope for traffic authorities is the Sulochana Shetty Marg, as it’s one of the least traffic snarled out of the three diversions, said sources. Especially towards the Dharavi Road. The roads are narrow hence four-wheelers or heavy vehicles don’t use this route and that’s the reason it’s not congested. In case other adjoining routes get jammed, Dharavi Road is the last backup. For the same reason, boards of no-parking have been erected at every joint and turn, to avoid congestion, said sources.
The Sion RoB was constructed in the year 1912 by the Britishers, and post the demolition, the reconstruction work is anticipated to take around two years, with an estimated cost of Rs. 50 crore. The new bridge will have two additional railway lines, connecting Kurla to Parel, 5th and 6th line, while the BMC will work on the approach stretches. Soon after the Sion RoB, the next in line is the Dharavi RoB for similar purposes.
