WEH to have underpass for traffic-free drive to city airport

To facilitate traffic-free driving experience to travellers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (Terminal 2) and Domestic (Terminal 1) Airports, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has proposed vehicular underpasses and widening of the existing Juhu-Vile Parle flyover.

Once ready, the motorists can drive at 40km/hr in these underpasses reducing the existing travel time. Since a contractor for the project has been selected, a ground breaking ceremony on May 31 along with starting the proposed 20km trial run on Metro Line 2A(Dahisar to DN Nagar) and 7 (Dahidar East to Andheri East) has been planned.

At T2, two underpasses will be built costing Rs 111.94 crore and at T1 one underpass and widening of the said Juhu-Vile Parle flyover will be done together at cost of Rs 76 crore. T1 project is expected to be completed in 18 months and T2 in 24 months. Defect liability period after completion of work for both will be 5 years. R P S Infra Projects Pvt Ltd has been recently awarded the contract through tendering process for both the T2 and T1 underpasses construction and flyover widening work.

Currently, the Western Express Highway (WEH) that leads the road to the T2 and T1 airports see a lot of traffic congestion especially during peak hours. According to the traffic survey report, at the T2 and T1 junctions on WEH during peak hours, the traffic is more than 10,000 passengers car unit (PCU). Therefore, it was suggested by the consultants that a grade separated underpass should be developed.