In what has sparked concerns of fresh traffic snarls in Andheri, the traffic department has issued a notice of ‘no entry’ to and from between Gokhale bridge and Gold Spot junction along the Teli Galli bridge, urging motorists to use alternative routes between April 1 and May 15. The closure of the route, according to officials, has been done in a bid to facilitate work on the second phase of the Gokhale bridge which entails connecting Teli Galli bridge with Gokhale bridge.
With the west and east-bound swathes linking Gold Spot junction to Gokhale bridge barred for access, the traffic department has instead appealed to residents to use alternative routes. For the vehicles traversing from Gold Spot junction towards Andheri West, an alternative route has been allocated via the east-bound arm of the Teli Galli bridge. Meanwhile, for vehicles coming from Gokhale bridge towards Gold Spot junction, the department has stated the use of the slip road.
Visuals showed that the civic body has dug up a portion on the west-bound arm in a bid to smoothen the existing depression on the bridge.
The decision, however, has caused concerns of increased traffic congestion on the already overburdened traffic lanes. Speaking to The Indian Express, Dhaval Shah, co-founder of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association (LOCA) said the sudden flow of traffic on the slip road will lead to inconvenience along the route. “The sudden flow will lead to a backlog of traffic from the diversion until the bridge. While the departmental notice has set a time-frame of 45 days to execute the work, they should expedite the speed and work on war footing to ensure that the work is completed faster and that the inconvenience is reduced,” added Shah.
Taking to social media, yet another local resident wrote, “Two-way traffic movement on the same lane, Being an Andherite is now a curse.”
For the record, currently, only one arm of the Gokhale bridge is operational for two-way traffic, with the bridge slated to be opened entirely by May this year.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd