Good News for Mumbai Motorists! Akurli Subway Work at Kandivali on Western Express Highway Nears End

Mumbai: Motorists on Mumbai's Western Express Highway (WEH) can finally breathe a sigh of relief as nearly two years of traffic congestion caused by the Akurli subway widening project in Kandivali is coming to an end. The long-standing barricades on the highway have been removed, signaling the completion of the much-delayed project.

The barricades had narrowed the north-bound lanes of the highway from four to two, creating severe traffic jams for vehicles traveling from south Mumbai and Bandra to the western suburbs, including Borivali and Dahisar. 

To ease the congestion, the traffic police had occasionally opened two additional lanes on the south-bound side during peak hours, leading to further traffic pileups in the opposite direction.

Motorists heading towards Borivali often faced delays of 20 minutes to an hour to cross the 1.5-2 km stretch between Malad and Kandivali, with the Samata Nagar Police Station junction being a major bottleneck.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) took up the project of widening the Akurli subway, which connects Kandivali station with the highway and the Lokhandwala residential area. However, the work was delayed due to the discovery of a 300mm diameter gas pipeline on the Borivali side of the subway, which supplies areas from Dahisar to Bandra. The pipeline had to be relocated to complete the work.

Earlier this month, Union Minister and Mumbai North MP Piyush Goyal, MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar, MMRDA officials, and local residents inspected the site to assess the progress. 

Goyal later announced that the completion of the project was a significant relief not only for North Mumbai but for the entire city. He emphasized that the government had prioritized resolving this traffic issue within the first 100 days of its new term under Prime Minister Modi.

With the barricades now removed, commuters on the Western Express Highway can look forward to smoother and faster journeys, finally putting an end to their traffic woes.