Ghodbunder Road in Thane to be enlarged by adding service lanes

According to MLA Pratap Sarnaik, the main Ghodbunder road in Thane that connects the western and eastern suburbs of Mumbai with Nashik is expected to be enlarged soon by including the underutilised 9-meter service roads on either side of the highway. The four-lane motorway is currently clogged with traffic because of rising traffic and ongoing metro construction projects. Because frequent travellers complain that it takes about 30 to 45 minutes to travel between Majiwada and Owala, Sarnaik advised that the management extend the highway and connect the service roads. During a meeting with Abhijit Bangar, Thane Municipal Commissioner, to discuss ways to alleviate the traffic congestion that plagues Ghodbunder, Sarnaik made the statement, “I've been receiving concerns about the Ghodbunder road's increasing traffic condition. After surveying the section, it became clear that the service road and Ghodbunder highway needed to be combined, creating a six- lane road. A feasibility study to turn the service lanes into the main highway has been requested from the corporation”. According to sources, the projected cost of widening might be in the area of Rs 40-50 crore, with footpaths possibly being moved to the ends of the motorways and the entire route possibly being concreted. According to reports, Sarnaik also suggested building parking bays at regular intervals along the GB route to solve the issue of vehicles being parked illegally on service roads. The widening of a highway that incorporates service roads, according to officials, may be the first of its sort to be implemented, but they also warned of severe difficulty for city drivers who would end up with extra issues. “The solution is to simply remove illegal parking from the service roads and make it free for city traffic to travel. Expanding the highway will end up causing more traffic congestions,” said a city-based expert.