BMC proposes flyover extension to connect Link Road to WEH

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to expand the 970 m under construction flyover between Link Road and SV Road in Borivali up to Western Express Highway (WEH) to decongest the traffic around the Borivali station area. BMC informed that the expansion of 860 m would decongest the Kora Kendra Junction that manages thousands of vehicular traffic every day. A flyover of 970 m is being built between Kora Kendra Junction on SV Road and Link Road at present. Nevertheless, the BMC plans the expansion up to WEH to decongest the arterial roads of Borivali. The motorists driving from the Link Road can now skip Kora Kendra Junction on SV Road as they can directly head to WEH via a set of two flyovers as per the plan. The cost of construction is expected to skyrocket from around Rs 160 crore to more than Rs 650 crore because of this. Besides expansion, the BMC also made technical changes which they claim have raised the cost of construction. The BMC told the media that the escalation is not only due to extension but also due to the change in guidelines considered for load-bearing, making the taking of additional safety measures mandatory, and it has increased the cost of construction. AV Shenoy from Mumbai Mobility Forum told the media that the expansion would help reduce vehicular traffic, but if the expansion does not help the motorists skip the SV Road junction, the project would mean diverting the congestion from one place to another. In the meantime, the BMC, in its justification submitted to the standing committee, said that despite an escalation of cost of Rs 490 crore, the BMC would save around Rs 63 crore considering that it did not tender the additional works, rather allotted the construction to the existing contractor working on the 970 m flyover. BMC said that this contractor intends to work on old rates to help the corporation save around Rs 63 crore. Image Source Also read: Chennai to add three more flyovers at cost of Rs 335 cr Also read: NHAI to undertake flyover construction on Jaipur-Kishangarh route