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PWD Minister Anil Deshmukh, speaking at a public consultation seeking people’s views on the proposed Pedder Road flyover, said that the state government will appoint a consultant “within two months” to study the feasibility of an underground tunnel connecting Haji Ali and Nariman Point, the second phase of the plan. The first phase, Worli to Haji ali, will be a sea-bridge as originally proposed.
According to Deshmukh, either a tunnel from Haji Ali junction to Nariman Point or a tunnel up to Bhulabhai Desai Road and a flyover to Nariman Point are the options being considered. “The consultants to carry out the pre-feasibility study for tunnelling will be appointed within two months. We want to commence the work of the sea link between Worli and Haji Ali by December 2008,” Deshmukh said. That is also around the time the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is expected to be completed, making the problem of dispersal from the Worli end a pressing one.
A public consultation on the much debated Pedder Road flyover, one of the traffic dispersal options for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, was hosted on Wednesday by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) after the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority informed them that a consultation was a necessity. Presenting details of the project, Deshmukh said the proposed 4.35-km flyover would be a four-lane one, not a three-lane bridge as planned earlier.
The suggestions from the residents of the area ranged from constructing an underground tunnel to reclaiming land to widen the road and to construct a flyover only from from Haji Ali to Cadbury junction, a major traffic bottleneck. Pedder Road Residents’ Association chairperson Veena Singhal said: “We don’t want an ugly 30-foot-high flyover which would only serve the purpose temporarily.” She added that the government should consider a tunnel instead of a flyover. Another resident of the area, Darsey Dinshaw, said: “With around 70 per cent of the cars expected to go under the flyover, it will cause a gridlock under the flyover, while only 30 per cent will be able to use the flyover.” Shirish Patel, one of the consultants and architect of the existing Kemps Corner flyover, said the construction of the flyover could cause health hazards for residents, especially for those who live on the first and second floors.
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