Breach Candy residents' demand for Coastal Road interchange gets a push

MUMBAI: The demand by Breach Candy residents for an additional interchange for the Coastal Road has got a push, with the civic authorities spearheading the mega-project exploring the possibility of a proposed new location. If the plan goes through, the additional interchange (entry/exit point) would pass through a plot owned by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) near Priyadarshini Park on Napean Sea Road.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has therefore asked the MSRDC if it would be willing to provide access to such an interchange, municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani told HT. If MSRDC agrees, AECOM, the consultant for the Coastal Road project, will be asked to study the feasibility of an additional entry/exit point. This would be the fourth interchange for the Coastal Road, the others being at Worli, Haji Ali and Breach Candy.

This development comes after local MLA and skill development minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha took up the issue on behalf of the Breach Candy Residents Forum (BCRF). In a letter dated January 21, Lodha wrote to Gagrani, requesting a meeting with officials from the BMC’s Coastal Road department and traffic department, to consider an additional exit, 1.3 km from the Breach Candy interchange at Amarsons or Tata Garden. Lodha had first raised the issue in October, requesting the BMC to consider adding an interchange. This would, however, pass through the MSRDC plot, he had said.

The demand for an additional interchange at Napean Sea Road follows concerns of increased traffic congestion at Breach Candy, caused by the interchange in that area. “This problem is particularly at the Mukesh Chowk Traffic junction, where travellers have to stay for 5 to 10 minutes sometimes, and more if there is VVIP movement,” Lodha wrote.

“I request you to consider an exit from the MSRDC plot, which will not only resolve the traffic issue of Warden Road, Kemps Corner, Napean Sea Road, Mukhesh Chowk, but also reduce the travel time to Walkeshwar Road, Teen Batti and the VVIP area of Malabar Hill,” he added.

Just a month earlier, BCRF had initiated a petition that gathered over 2,500 signatures, endorsed by residents of Napean Sea Road and Malabar Hill, for the additional entry/exit point near Priyadarshini Park. Their contention: the Coastal Road’s original plan included an interchange at Napean Sea Road.

Lodha’s letter points to a 2011 study by the Joint Technical Committee appointed by the state government on the Coastal Road. The study lists interchanges at both the Napean Sea Road and Breach Candy locations.

At the time, the BMC had said it would be difficult to consider this demand as there was no public land available next to Priyadarshini Park. Nevertheless, the demand received Lodha’s support during the state assembly elections, and the BMC’s Coastal Road department sent a proposal to the municipal commissioner to appoint AECOM to study the feasibility for the Napean Sea Road entry/exit.

“Based on the MSRDC’s response, a decision will be taken on the proposal to ask AECOM to study the feasibility to the NSR exit,” said a BMC official.

MLA Lodha was optimistic about the BMC’s response. “I’ve spoken with the municipal commissioner, and I am sure of a positive response,” he said.