Goregaon-Mulund Link Road: Mumbai civic body to study traffic impact at SGNP, Film City

Setting the ball rolling for the Rs3,800 crore Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now proposed to appoint a consultant to study the traffic count (vehicles that will ply on the road after its construction) and its impact on the road.

The consultant who will be appointed at a cost of ₹9 crore will study the possible traffic problems, changes if needed at the junctions and solution for problems that will be caused due to construction of the six-lane 4.75km-long tunnel below the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and the 500-metre-long box tunnel near the Film City in Goregaon. The consultant will undertake traffic survey, its analysis and suggest changes.

The project will be carried out in three phases. First will be construction of a bridge at Nahur railway station by demolishing the old one. BMC has appointed the Indian Institute of Technology for study of the bridge construction and is working with Railway authorities for permissions.

Development of the remaining part of the GMLR will be undertaken as per the Development Plan (DP), excluding the tunnels. The 4.75km tunnel will be the last phase of the project.

The GMLR is expected to reduce traffic on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, which faces severe congestion during peak hours, by one hour.

To kick-start the construction of the 5.96-km project, BMC will now need only two clearances — one from the state’s forest department and the national wildlife board clearance as the road is passing through an eco-sensitive zone. BMC received clearance from the environment ministry earlier this year.

To implement the project, BMC will need to divert 21.5 hectare of forest land, which would be the area of the tunnel under the national park. The project will also involve the chopping of 625 trees.