Rs 27 cr down the drain? 7-yr old Veer Savarkar flyover may get razed for Mumbai’s Coastal Road double-decker bridge

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has given an in-principle approval to demolish the seven-year-old Veer Savarkar flyover in Goregaon. The move is to make space for a new double-decker bridge that will connect the Malad-Mindspace section of the Mumbai Coastal Road (North) to Dindoshi.

This was confirmed on Tuesday by additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar. The upcoming bridge is part of the Coastal Road 2 project, which will link Versova and Dahisar. The Savarkar flyover, which runs from Radisson Hotel to Rustomjee Ozone, was built at a cost of Rs 27 crore. And the new of demolition has raised questions whether demolition a flyover that is only seven year old and has come up at a cost of Rs 27 crore worth it.

The demolition proposal still awaits the final nod from the municipal commissioner. Once cleared, the plan is to build a double-decker bridge supported by a single pier to connect the Coastal Road with the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road.

Speaking to TOI, Bangar said, "Several alternatives were reviewed to see which option would be the most effective. In the end, it was decided that a double-decker bridge would be the best solution as it can handle local traffic as well as provide the required connection from Malad to Dindoshi.”

In the first week of August, motorists noticed that piling work for the connector had already started at Dindoshi. According to Bangar, the Savarkar flyover may not be demolished immediately since the bridge from Dindoshi to Malad is a long one, and demolition might only take place after the monsoon season.

Residents and commuters, however, are worried about possible traffic problems. Many fear a repeat of the Gokhale-Barfiwala flyover "misalignment” issue that created a national controversy in 2022. As Savarkar flyover is heavily used for east-west travel, former Goregaon corporator Deepak Thakur warned that its removal would worsen traffic on the already busy Western Express Highway.

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"We went through huge difficulties when this flyover was being built, and now we may have to suffer again. We will try to suggest alternatives so that the BMC can avoid pulling it down,” said Thakur. His mother, Vidya Thakur, is a BJP MLA from Goregaon assembly constituency.

Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh from Malad assembly constituency has also spoken against the demolition. He pointed out that traffic congestion will not only affect Goregaon but also Malad, and the situation could become worse once demolition starts. Former corporator Sandeep Patel added that planners should have considered the fact that the flyover was built only seven years ago.