Mumbai: Mumbai witnessed a massive infra development in 2025 with flyovers, metro, and airport, but the city’s roads once again told stories of frustration for daily commuters. From snarls during peak hours to sudden bottlenecks caused by infrastructure work, potholes, or monsoon disruptions, several traffic hotspots repeatedly tested commuters’ patience. While traffic congestion has been a long-standing issue across Mumbai, places like BKC, the Western Express Highway, JVLR, Dadar, Powai, Kurla and Ghodbunder Road, among others, became synonyms for congestion. As the year draws to a close, here’s a look back at the locations that frequently made headlines as commuters complained of hours-long jams, emerging as MMR’s biggest traffic hotspots in 2025.
Western Express Highway
The Western Express Highway continued to remain one of Mumbai’s most persistent traffic hotspots. The stretch from Bandra–Santacruz flyover through the international airport area often witnessed heavy congestion, with traffic moving northbound towards the Andheri flyover, Hub Mall, Nesco, Goregaon–Aarey and further up to Kandivali. Frequent bottlenecks along this corridor regularly led to traffic snarls lasting 30 minutes to over an hour, especially during peak hours.
Dahisar Check Naka
The Dahisar Check Naka stretch has been a major congestion point for many years, particularly during peak hours. Authorities also suggested that shifting the toll naka would ease traffic flow. In November, the toll booth was moved only 20 Metres ahead, offering little to no relief. Commuters continued to report heavy congestion between the Dahisar East Metro station and the Thakur Mall stretch on the Mira Road side, and vice versa.
Bhoomi Mart Junction
Bhoomi Mart Junction in Malad West emerged as another major traffic flashpoint in 2025. Multiple commuters flagged severe congestion on social media at the junction, with traffic jammed in all four directions for over an hour on several occasions. The stretch worsened the situation on connecting roads such as Jankalyan Road, Charkop Road, Mith Chowki and Marina Enclave Road.
Ghodbunder Road
Ghodbunder Road, one of Thane’s busiest connectors linking the Eastern and Western Express Highways, is a daily hazard zone. Deep potholes, poor lighting, unmarked diversions and long traffic snarls have made the stretch unsafe and exhausting for lakhs of commuters who use it every day. Ghodbunder Road begins at the Kapurbawdi junction near the Eastern Express Highway and ends at Ghodbunder village, where it connects to the Western Express Highway, covering nearly a 20-kilometre stretch. One of the biggest choke points is the Gaimukh Ghat, where the four-lane road suddenly narrows to two lanes, significantly slowing movement. Commuters frequently reported long queues and slow-moving traffic along the stretch from Gaimukh Ghat to Kapurbawdi and the Fountain Hotel area. The situation worsened on November 18 when a crane deployed for Metro Line 12 work broke down near the Tatvagyan Vidyapeeth junction in the early hours of the morning. The breakdown, which occurred around 5 am, triggered a massive traffic jam that lasted for more than 12 hours, as the issue remained unresolved until evening, according to reports.
Mumbai Ahmedabad highway
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway stretch was also in the news for facing severe traffic congestion. In October, a massive traffic jam on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad National Highway in Maharashtra’s Palghar district left more than 500 students and commuters stranded for nearly 12 hours. The school children were returning from a picnic. Following this incident, several school picnics were reportedly cancelled due to the heavy gridlock. The situation did not end there. Residents of Saunavghar village in the Virar–Vasai region also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing extreme distress over the situation. Frustrated by persistent traffic jams and poor road conditions on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway, the villagers said their daily lives had become “unbearable.”
BKC
In 2025, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), one of Mumbai’s busiest commercial hubs, continued to experience significant traffic challenges every day.
In September, a Reddit post went viral, which said, "Don't Take A Job In Mumbai's BKC," which summed up commuter frustrations with the everyday congestion, long travel times, and limited public transport alternatives within and around the business district. In order to control traffic woes, the government has planned pod taxi services for commuters travelling to BKC, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and ease the burden on the existing transport system.
JVLR
Lastly, the Jogeshwari–Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) is also a major route connecting the Western Express Highway to Powai and the Eastern Suburbs. The stretch witnesses bottleneck traffic almost every day. Recently, traffic along the JVLR came to a near standstill due to spillover congestion from the Mood Indigo festival at IIT Bombay, which clogged the Powai and Sakinaka areas, including JVLR. The Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA) also shared visuals of the gridlock, stating, “Heavy congestion occurred along the JVLR due to a large influx of students attending the Mood Indigo festival.” A Powai resident, speaking to Mid Day, said it took him over an hour to travel from Rambaug Chowki to IIT Bombay.
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