BMC to unclog arterial SV Road by widening three bottlenecks

One of the busiest roads in the western suburbs SV Road will soon be freed from three crucial bottlenecks The BMC has planned to decongest the Mathuradas and MG Road junction MTNL office junction and the junction opposite Poisar depot to ease traffic jams on this roadOne of the busiest roads in the western suburbs SV road is prone to traffic jams like these The BMC hopes to ease such traffic jams by widening the crucial bottlenecks File pic for representationWhile this project will increase the width of the road to 2745 m from the existing 19 m more than 80 people who live in these areas will have to be rehabilitated which alone will cost Rs 297 croreThe additional roadwork involving concretization and laying side strips on the road will cost the civic body another Rs 2 croreldquoThe projectaffectedpeople will have to be rehabilitated at a cost of around Rs 35 lakh each and there are 85 such people in all We are hoping to complete the project in a yearrsquos timerdquo said an official from the Maintenance Department of the RSouth wardArterial roadwayThe Swami Vivekanand road popularly known as SV road runs from Bandra to Dahisar and hence has a large number of motorists plying either way The road sees tremendous traffic during peak hours and these bottlenecks end up causing traffic jams that go on for hours The BMC has therefore identified three such spots where the road will be widened to ease traffic congestionThese spots include the junction outside Poisar depot the one outside the MTNL office in Goregaon and the stretch that connects Mathuradas Road and MG RoadThese three spots have become narrow and are leading to frequent traffic jams They will now be widened to accommodate more vehiclesldquoSV road is a very important road which is why we have decided to widen it We are expecting the traffic to ease out to a large extentrdquo said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ashok Khaire who is in charge of the projectThe Mathuradas and MG road junction has 43 commercial structures on both sides that will be affected while the MTNL junction in Goregaon has three residential and 35 commercial structuresA primary survey has been done for both of these spots and people have been asked to submit documents that will determine their eligibility for rehabilitationThe Poisar depot junction has seven commercial structures on both sides that have been offered alternative shops in Natraj market But the shopkeepers have demanded that they be given shops in the municipal market in Chikuvadi Borivli insteadThe municipal commissioner will be taking a final decision on this