BMC moots dedicated ‘highway cell’ to tackle traffic snarls on WEH, EEH

Mumbai's BMC plans a dedicated 'highway cell' to tackle traffic congestion on the Western and Eastern Express Highways, focusing on long-term management.

MUMBAI: In a bid to address the persistent traffic congestion on two of Mumbai’s most critical arterial roads—the Western Express Highway (WEH) and the Eastern Express Highway (EEH), the BMC, in a first, has proposed the creation of a dedicated ‘highway cell’ under its roads department.

The Vakola bridge is one of the bridges on WEH, and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link flyover on the EEH that belong to the MSRDC. Delays in handing them over to the civic body has caused delays in its maintenance. SATISH BATE, (Hindustan Times)

The new cell, to be headed by the chief engineer (roads), is intended to bring focused attention and long-term planning to the management and development of these crucial corridors. “Despite multiple attempts at decongesting the WEH and EEH, both highways continue to suffer from severe traffic snarls,” said a civic official from the BMC’s bridges department. “While the BMC took over the maintenance of these highways from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) three years ago, the interventions to date have largely been fragmented and reactive.”

The proposed highway cell is expected to change this approach by developing a comprehensive traffic management and infrastructure strategy. It will address ‘kerb-to-kerb’ concerns, ranging from the main carriageways and service roads to the condition and capacity of bridges.

Administrative complications have slowed the project’s progress. Six key bridges along the highways are still controlled by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), and ongoing toll-related issues have delayed their full handover to the BMC. These jurisdictional overlaps continue to hinder seamless planning and execution.

There are six bridges belonging to MSRDC on WEH—Vakola, JVLR, Aarey, Magathane, National Park and the Dindoshi bridge—at which it collects toll. Four other bridges—the Chheda Nagar flyover, Kurla flyover, Vikhroli junction flyover and Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link flyover on EEH also belong to MSRDC. “We don’t think MSRDC will hand over these bridges to us, as it will not be able to collect toll if it does,” said the civic official.

Another major challenge lies in the inconsistencies in road width along different sections of the highways. “While certain areas such as Khar and Bandra benefit from six-lane stretches, other high-traffic zones like Andheri, Jogeshwari and Kandivali are limited to three or four lanes,” said the BMC official. “These disparities, the result of past work undertaken by multiple agencies, including MMRDA and the Public Works Department (PWD), have led to chronic bottlenecks.

The new cell will be tasked with systematically resolving these discrepancies, the civic official added. This may include road-widening efforts, which could require substantial land acquisition to expand certain sections from four lanes to as many as eight. “The role of the cell is mainly to look into maintenance and see if new structures are required or land needs to be acquired to widen roads for seamless movement of traffic,” he said.

The highway cell will have a dedicated staff, with executive engineers, assistant engineers and sub-engineers assigned exclusively to highway-related work without involvement in other municipal projects. The proposal will shortly go to BMC commissioner and administrator Bhushan Gagrani for approval.