The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which will have separate lanes for public transport, will finally get underway in the city. The BMC has proposed to implement this project on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road on a pilot basis.
The Mumbai BRTS has been taken up by the BMC, the BEST Undertaking and the state government, with the intention of easing traffic in the city and to make the public transport system safer. Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road will be the first road in the city to have this system.
Standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale said, “Considering the expected rise in the number of vehicles once the Eastern Freeway is constructed, the highway police has asked the BMC to widen the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road. While carrying out widening work, we have decided to implement the BRTS project on its service road, which will act as a separate lane for public transport. The improvement and widening of the service road will also be done in cement concrete (CC).”
A senior official from the civic road department said, “The service road of the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road was used for unauthorised parking and storage of material by neighbouring shopkeepers. Apart from making public transport system speedy and safe, the BRTS will also help in getting rid of such illegalities.”
As suggested by consultant M/s Bhobe and Associates Pvt Ltd, the estimated cost of widening, concretisation and other work of the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road will cost around `173.18 crore. The time assigned for the completion of the project is 24 months.
The main carriageway of the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road was constructed between the years 2005-07. The work of the Eastern Freeway, which connects the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastusangrahalaya in south Mumbai to the Eastern Express Highway, is in progress and it will be completed next year. After completion, traffic on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road is likely to be diverted to the Eastern Freeway
and merge with the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road.