Mumbai: Eastern Freeway ramps may never see light of day

Each time Shoaib Hussain gets onto the Anik depotOrange Gate stretch of the Eastern Freeway he keeps a wary eye on the two ramps running beside it The 250metrelong stretches are yet to be opened mdash they have been ready for two years having missed the December 2013 deadline mdash but the Andheri resident knows that they are a disaster waiting to happenThe southbound ramp connects with the Eastern Freeway near Wadala at a sharp curve prodding the traffic police to permanently station an emergency tow van at the spot PicsPradeep DhivarThe 250metrelong ramps were supposed to help motorists travelling between South Mumbai and areas like Sion Kurla Ghatkopar and Wadala get onto the freeway easily but they are a textbook example of poor planning The ramps have been rendered useless because they are built on marshy land and meet the freeway near Wadala at a sharp curveNo green lightAn expenditure of Rs 5 crore later it might now be too late for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA to go back to the drawing board The traffic police have reportedly refused to clear the ramps opening due to fears of accidents at the spot where the southbound ramp takes a sharp curve onto the FreewaySources said most vehicles on the freeway dont stick to the speed limit of 60 kmph The traffic police wants signals to first be installed at the spot mdash a suggestion that hasnt gone down well with MMRDA authorities since the Eastern Freeway was pegged to be a signalless stretchThe ramp connects with the Eastern Expressway at Wadala on a sharp bendPrakash Mamdapuyre chief of MMRDAs engineer department said the opening of the ramps hinges on the traffic polices clearance The BMC has been asked to install the signals Work has already begun The ramps will be opened at the earliestMMRDA sources said for the time being a passing signal mdash asking motorists to slow down mdash has been installed on the freewayWithout the ramps motorists have to take a creek bridge at the Anik junction travel almost 15 km in the opposite direction towards Panjarpol and then take a Uturn under the RCF flyover to go to South MumbaiAn emergency towing vehicle stationed at the curvature an accidentprone spotBut a reality check by midday on Saturday revealed that traffic signals alone arent holding up the opening The ramps it turns out have been built on marshy land mdash at at least two spots the ground has been sinkingA worker at the site said the land continues to sink despite being levelled repeatedly Its all marshy land It is bound to sink The pillars of the ramps are just 50100 metre away from a mangrove plantation With the ramps continuing to sink in the plaster on pillars and girders at a number of places have begun to peel offAn MMRDA official admitted that the land on which the pier of the ramps stand need to be first strengthened The piers were constructed on marshy land All proper procedures were followed and the foundation of the piers was laid as per standards There is no threat to the structuremidday also found that the southbound ramp offers little leeway to vehicles getting onto the Freeway mdash a sure recipe for disaster The authorities are aware that the sharp curve is an accidentprone zone mdash they have stationed an emergency towing van near the southbound carriageway The MMRDA official said CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor speeding vehicles We can ask traffic police to deploy personnel near the ramps to avoid accidentsAlternative spotTransport experts have slammed MMRDAs poor planning Expert Jitendra Gupta said the MMRDA is notorious for ill thought projects Take the Monorail and the cycling track projects for example Public funds have been wasted on them The freeway ramp near Wadala is a dangerous spot Had the MMRDA coordinated with the traffic police and discussed the locations with them the ramps could have been thrown open a long time agoJoint CP traffic Pratap Digaonkar said No one has approached us for clearance of the ramps