BG Kher Road to open soon; will ease traffic

MUMBAI: The upscale Malabar Hill’s B G Kher Marg, also known as Ridge Road, which is used for VVIP movement, will be ready by January 26 and open for traffic subsequently. The thoroughfare was shut down two-and-a-half years ago, following the Malabar Hill landslide in August, 2020.

Its closure led to traffic diversion across three roads -- Walkeshwar Road, Nepeansea Road and NS Patkar Road. With the opening next week, traffic congestion will ease.

So why did it take Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) so long to repair an approximately one kilometre stretch?

A civic official said it took nearly two years for soil stabilisation of the Malabar Hill slope, conducted under the supervision of IIT-Bombay. “Since the hill slope was damaged, we had to tide over two monsoons for natural soil stabilisation. The water main (the pipeline) under the road was also damaged which had to be replaced along with other utilities like storm water drain,” said the official.

The major repair work began in October last year. “The carriageway roadwork is nearing completion now; some finishing touches are awaited, along with work on the footpath, street lights, railings and beautification. It was first proposed as an asphalt road, but now we have concretised it with cement,” he added.

The damage caused to the Parsi Panchayat compound wall during the landslide, added to the challenge. The road had caved in six feet under in August 2020.

“Road work began only after a gabion wall was constructed, for which we had to cut down trees,” said the civic official. BMC spent around ₹50 crore to repair this stretch.

This road has a utility duct underneath to avoid trenching. The new storm water drain will prevent rainwater from accumulating. “There will be no need to dig this road in the future for laying utilities and cables. Henceforth, all roads will have this concept of utility ducts,” he said.

Repair work under way at BG Kher Road on Malabar Hill.