A viaduct is essentially a road built over an existing road. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to build this 3.5 km, six-lane two-tier viaduct to whizz vehicles nonstop from Haji Ali to Chowpatty.

The IIT expert was appointed to study objections to the viaduct after a delegation of local residents narrated their grievances to Public Works Department Minister Nitin Gadkari last month.

``The experts will find out how far the apprehensions raised by the residents are true,'' MSRDC Managing Director R C Sinha saidAffirming that there would be no goingback on the project, Sinha said that the viaduct had been delayed by a month and hoped that work would start on it by January next year. However, residents are adamant that they will settle for nothing less than a complete scrapping of the viaduct.

``Over one lakh automobiles will pass through this viaduct every day, the effects of noise pollution and vehicle exhaust will be severe,'' said Madhu Shetye, President of the Tardeo Gamdevi Protection Committee, citing a report prepared by architect Uday Nadkarni outlining the hazards of the viaduct. He questioned why the PWD had gone back on its earlier proposal to build the viaduct over Peddar Road, when this route was a kilometre shorter.

Malabar Hill MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that besides disrupting pedestrian traffic and becoming a nuisance to local residents, the viaduct would impose height restrictions on the Ganpati idols. ``We will not be able to take out Ganpati idols that are taller than 18 feet.''

Residents say the existing road between HajiAli and Wilson College narrows down to less than 30 feet in as many as six places. Hardly the road width to build a double-decker flyover. As an alternative to this viaduct, the largest of its kind in the country, Shetye suggested the revival of a 1965 proposal to bore a tunnel under Malabar Hill to connect Haji Ali or even stopping the entry of private vehicles into the city during peak hours.