BMC to build T-shaped flyover at Mith Chowky to decongest traffic
In a bid to decongest the Mith Chowky traffic junction, also known as ‘Uncle’s Kitchen’ junction in Malad (West) which is infamous for snarls, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is constructing a ‘T’-shaped flyover at the chokepoint.
As the 800-m-long flyover will pass below the elevated Metro 2A line, it will only cater to two-wheelers and light motor vehicles (LMVs). P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (projects), said that the construction would cost nearly Rs 53 crore.
The Mith Chowky is a four-arm traffic junction, where the S V Road intersects the road going towards Madh Island. This junction is a primary connecting point in the western suburbs as all vehicles travelling towards Andheri from Dahisar and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) pass through this road. Due to heavy traffic volume, it takes 10-15 minutes to pass the 50-m stretch of this island during peak hours.
Once the flyover is ready, travel time on this stretch is likely to come down to three minutes.
Civic officials said that the new flyover will have three arms that will cater to east-west and south-bound traffic. “Most of the vehicles that cause congestion in Mith Chowky are auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
Therefore, this flyover will specifically cater to them. Also, as the elevated Metro bridge passes over this junction, we had to keep a restriction on the height of vehicles that will use the flyover. The road below will cater to heavy vehicles and BEST buses,” an official said.
The flyover will originate near the Girdhar Park bridge, which passes above Malad Creek and extends above the traffic junction. The westward landing will be near St Joseph’s School, from where vehicles can move further towards Malad station and Western Express Highway. Another south-bound arm will extend from the flyover, which will drop in the link road, from where motorists can travel towards Infiniti Mall and Andheri, Juhu.
At present, the BMC has started piling work and civic officials said that they are eyeing a January 2024 deadline for this flyover. “As the Metro lines will pass over the flyover, it is not possible to build a cable-stayed bridge, which would require less piling. Therefore, we are carrying the piling work in a conventional way. However, we are eyeing a January 2024 deadline for the project,” the official said. The flyover plan was floated way back in 2014.
However, the project didn’t see the light of day owing to announcement of the Metro project and back then there was also ambiguity over the height of the elevated Metro. Therefore, the BMC waited for the Metro line to become operational first.
