Mumbai Chaos Deepens After Elphinstone Bridge Closure Sparks Traffic Nightmare

The historic Elphinstone Road Over Bridge (ROB) closure on Friday night triggered massive traffic congestion in Mumbai which trapped thousands of commuters on Saturday. The journey between Sion and Dadar which used to take 15 minutes now took more than an hour while Navi Mumbai to Parel trips extended to two hours.

The Sewri-Worli Elevated Connector project requires the closure of the vital east-west link which serves 500,000 to 700,000 daily commuters. The initial day of under pressure as traffic congestion started forming during the middle of the morning.

The traffic police failed to manage operation revealed major shortcomings in the planning and coordination process. The increased traffic volume caused alternative routes to fail the traffic jam despite using 100 wardens and 50 additional police officers and 25 Maharashtra Security Force personnel. The congestion at Tilak Bridge in Dadar spread to Matunga and Dharavi because of unorganized parking and dangerous two-wheeler movements through traffic. The two main roads Gokhale Road and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road became completely inaccessible to traffic.

The Elphinstone Bridge faces demolition to construct a contemporary double-decker structure. The ongoing construction period will create ongoing disruptions to both commuters and essential services and educational institutions and medical facilities according to local residents.