Civic body thinks of eight ways out of Mumbai’s traffic mess

‘Missing links’ to cut distance between select locations by at least half, says BMC

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has what it believes, identified the missing link, eight of them, to a smoother commute in the city. Under the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) 2034, the civic body plans to construct these missing links — the shortest possible road between two parallels ones that see constant heavy traffic — within the next few years.

All eight links connect two locations or roads that are at distances ranging between 1km and 4km.

According to an official, once the missing links are constructed, the distance between the spots will be reduced to less than half the present distance. The locations were identified based on the amount of traffic in the area, present ease of connectivity and population density.

Officials said the BMC is presently studying the feasibility of constructing these roads, one in the island city, three in the western suburbs and four in the eastern suburbs.

According to them, the construction of the routes would require land acquisition and resettlement of project-affected people (PAP), making it a lengthy process.

Vinod Chithore, director of engineering services and projects in BMC, said, “These missing links will be constructed as a pilot project. Based on their success, we will take up more such projects.”

A senior civic official from BMC’S traffic department said, “All missing links we have identified go through slum settlements. So land acquisition and rehabilitation is a major component of project planning. BMC is looking at a time period of up to five years before the links are actually constructed.”