Mumbai: The Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) has eased traffic between the island city and suburbs but worsened congestion at the Mukesh Chowk signal on Nepeansea Road. The Breach Candy interchange exit has become a daily bottleneck. As a result, local residents have urged the BMC to add an extra exit to improve traffic flow, particularly for Nepeansea Road and Malabar Hill commuters.
The Breach Candy Residents Forum (BCRF) has raised concerns with the traffic department over rising congestion after the first phase of the Coastal Road opened. At a BMC meeting, MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha urged Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani to open a southbound exit at Nepeansea Road, 100m before the congested Breach Candy exit, following repeated resident demands. He also warned he would escalate the issue to CM Devendra Fadnavis if no action is taken.
The 10.58 km stretch of the Coastal Road from Marine Drive to Bandra-Worli Sea Link includes several interchanges, one of which connects to Bhulabhai Desai Road. A BCRF traffic study revealed that over 60% of vehicles exiting at Amarsons Garden head toward Nepeansea Road or Malabar Hill.
Residents argue that a new southbound exit would ease traffic and warn that delays could hike construction costs later. They also complained that the operational Coastal Road has brought an excess of cars, worsening congestion in the area.
The BMC will appoint Pawan Hans Ltd to conduct a feasibility study for a helipad at Worli Jetty, paying a consultancy fee of Rs 5 lakh. The helipad is planned on a temporary jetty near Worli Dairy, originally built for the Coastal Road project. Unlike the dismantled Amarsons Garden jetty, the Worli jetty was retained for coastal police surveillance and is large enough to allow helicopter landings, said officials.
