Western Expressway Residents Await Relief from Traffic Hell

The Western Expressway, a vital artery for Mumbai's western suburbs, is gridlocked with congestion, snarling travel for residents and commuters alike. The worst-hit stretch runs from Akruli Road in Kandivali East to Borivali East, where jams stretch for kilometers and significantly increase travel times, defying the expressway's purpose of efficient commutes. The frustration is palpable.

Jamna Sahu, a Kandivli East autorickshaw driver, lamenting the choked 3-km stretch from Akruli Road to Thakur Village. "What used to take 15 minutes now eats up half an hour," she said. "The traffic surge is crazy, and construction doesn't help."Like Sahu, Chirag Shah, a former Lokhandwala Township resident, opted for relocation to escape the daily grind. " My 40-minute commute from Wadala doubled to 80 minutes during peak hours. 

Traffic on the Western Expressway was a major reason for my shift to Sion. Spending hours stuck in it became unbearable," he stated. Akruli Road's narrowness and rampant traffic violations contribute to the chaos. Ongoing public-private projects generate frequent roadwork and digging, exacerbating the issue. The single-lane stretch near Rivali Park, accommodating heavy vehicles, further intensifies congestion. Haphazard U-turns and vehicles spilling over dividers add to the mayhem.

Citizen groups like We All Connect are pushing for solutions. "The traffic cascades across the region," noted Santy Shetty, the group head. "No amount of traffic police management can fix it without widening the Akurli subway, addressing the gas pipeline issue, and installing proper dividers." Shetty, along with residents, recently met MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar, highlighting the need for comprehensive solutions. Bhatkhalkar, acknowledging the problem's complexity, stated, "Resolving the Western Expressway's traffic requires time due to ongoing projects like gas pipeline laying. It's delicate work, so speeding it up isn't an option. We've proposed a Rs. 70-80 lakh parabolic divider project and aim to address other issues by May."

The Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP) identified Akruli Road as a bottleneck in September 2023. Bottlenecks arise when the number of vehicles remains constant, but road width shrinks due to construction, causing persistent congestion.