Mumbai: Eastern Express Highway's traffic situation goes from bad to worse

As per the 2001 census data, migrants account for about 37% of the decadal growth of Mumbai. While their problems are uniquely different from the original Mumbaikars, they all share the horrific traffic travails. That said, the residents of Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai, too, partake in the chaos every day as they travel to the city for work.

One key ‘connecting line’ between Mumbai and Thane is the Eastern Express Highway (EEH), where woes have been intensifying by the day. Twitter trolls that EEH attracts every day, in fact, are longer than its daily jams. That said, its non-peak hours are far better than the Western Express Highway, another main city route.

The Free Press Journal kept a watch on chronic spots like Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, Dadar, and Priyadarshini Circle to find out what commuters experience on a daily basis. The morning rush begins at 7am and lasts until noon. After a slight relief, the madness resumes at 5 pm and continues until 10 pm. During these five-hour-long peak hours, motorists suffer bumper to bumper traffic.

For jams between Mulund, Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli, the traffic police website receives complaints by the minute. Vikhroli junction, where EEH connects with the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli junction is yet another route referred to as a ‘headache’ by commuters.

One segment of Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) that connects with the LBS Marg Junction is another bottleneck. Of these, JVLR, with the ongoing construction of Metro Line 6, is the root cause of frequent bad traffic days. The L&T Flyover, another popular route for working professionals with offices in Powai, Andheri and Kanjurmarg, also results in traffic build-up complaints due to illegal parking, encroachments and absence of traffic cops.

Southeast, commuters detest Sion-Trombay Road in Chembur along with Mankhurd railway bridge. On the positive side, though, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road has benefitted commuters headed towards Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Traffic expert and founder member of Citizen Transport Committee, Jitendra Gupta attributed this chaos to illegal parking that takes away a huge chunk of motorable road. He said the culprit areas are Kurla Depot on LBS Marg and Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road, where the entire footpath and two motorable lanes are lost to illegal parking.

“This also occurs right outside the traffic police chowki at Kurla depot, which proves that either the police are not serious about the problem or are unable to resolve the issue,” he said, hoping for accountability.

As per Gupta, Metro work is another cause. “Besides, each and every corner that is part of the project is in darkness at night as heavy machinery has destroyed power cables. The MMDRA has failed to enforce illumination and well-marked danger signs by contractors in these areas,” he said.

Another problem highlighted by Mr Gupta is the auto rickshaw menace after the government relaxation in issuing fresh permits since 2015. “The number of auto rickshaws, especially shared vehicles, have replaced taxi service. Reckless auto drivers also create dangerous situations for the elderly, women and children. The police are helpless, let alone control noise pollution caused by this rush,” said Gupta.

A local traffic cop from the Dadar TT area said, “During long weekends and public holidays, EEH is almost empty. It is mostly used by the working population and joyrides”

Commuter Speak

I have been travelling by road for work from Thane to Dadar for over a decade. In the last few years, the situation has gone from bad to worse. Still, between train and road travel I would choose the latter as I can at least breathe in my car.

Dinesh Vishwanath, businessman from Thane

High time that technology benefits traffic, too. Poor traffic management and perennial road works are a headache. Being disabled, I have to depend on taxis but it’s frustrating to spend four hours every day stuck in traffic.

Vishnu Kumar, gold businessman from Sion  

Mumbai's Vehicular Statistics:

Total number of vehicles registered with Mumbai RTO ( Eastern ) (as of March 2022) - 10,14,453

Two-wheelers - 6,46,653

Cars - 2,20,519

Meter taxi - 7,345

Tourist cab - 18,596

Auto Rickshaw - 79,268

Mini bus - 1,775

School Bus - 381

Ambulance - 452

Truck - 1,065

Delivery vans ( four-wheelers) - 18,555

Delivery vans (three-wheelers) -10,317

Tractors - 46

Trailers - 27

Other vehicles - 9,454

Readers who wish to give feedback/narrate their own stories of traffic woe can reacch out to us at: editor@fpj.co.in / fpjcitydesk@gmail.com