Ghodbunder Road, a State Highway
which connects the NH – 8(Ahmadabad) and NH – 3 (Agra), falls under the
jurisdiction of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). A
large part of the Ghodbunder Road passes through Thane Municipal Area or Thane
city. And the development of thane in the last few years is the result of the
widening, concretisation and development of Ghodbunder Road.
It is the primary arterial or the
spine of development of thane in the last few years. There is large scale
development going on both sides of the road and with increasing population
there has been a phenomenal increase in passenger traffic on this road, adding
to the freight/goods traffic. With a vision to promote the Smooth flow of
traffic, MSRDC planned flyovers over the major junctions namely Kapurbawdi,
Manpada, Patlipada and Waghbil. At the time of writing this blog the Waghbil
and Patlipada flyover were completed and functioning smoothly. Residents of
Ghodbunder road specially those living beyond Manpada were eagerly waiting for the completion of
Manpada flyover as it would provide the solution to the 10 minutes of
congestion delay everyone travelling on this stretch during peak hours was
facing.
The Manpada flyover was opened on
18th March to the shortlived joy of all, as it only reduced the
delay from 10 minutes to 7 minutes and shifting the congestion from below the
flyover to above the flyover. Manpada Flyover has not become the solution
everyone was dreaming of just due to inefficient planning, coordination between
two government agencies and bad planning and traffic management practices.
What went Wrong?????
The Map above shows the schematic
layout flyover with the Manpada Junction. Generally, a flyover is proposed
after carrying out the traffic study of the junction and the road, which
includes surveys of the existing traffic movement. It is also important to
study the proposed road network in the vicinity for good planning.
1.)Travel Pattern/ Habits: Before the flyover was proposed Junction
A or Tikuji Ni Wadi Junction on Ghodbunder road was a primary junction and all
turning movements happened there as it was a signalized junction. MSRDC decided
to eliminate all signalized junction on the road and thus announced a flyover
over Tikuji ni wadi junction at Manpada. When the flyover was being constructed
the Tikuji ni wadi or junction A was
closed to turning traffic. Im place of Junction A, Junction B i. e Khewra
circle Road junction was signalized and all turning movements were allowed from
Junction B. Over a period of 3 years during which the flyover was constructed
Khewra circle junction became a primary junction instead of Tikuji ni wadi
junction. Traffic patterns and movements in the area changed and travel habits
formed.
Now when the flyover is complete,
Junction A ( Tikuji ni wadi) has been opened for turning movements but people
still use Junction B (Khewra circle Road) for turning movements due to
established traffic pattern or Habit. Result is that there are long queues above
the flyover as one lane of the 2 lane flyover is obstructed by vehicles waiting
to turn at the signalized junction.
The Junction B must be closed and signals removed for effective traffic
management, otherwise the flyover is a waste of public money as it does not
reduce delays due to signal queues that extend above the flyover. Those who
want to turn can do so at the the tikuji -ni -wadi junction below the Manpada
flyover.
2.)Long Term Planning: The developments taking place on the Khewra
circle Road are huge. There are large complexes like the dosti Imperia, Acme
Ozone coming up and many more will come up later. They will generate a large
amount of traffic and later on in the future this road will become the prime
cross road rather than tikuji ni wadi road. It would have made more sense to
have the flyover constructed over both these junctions. Any sensible traffic
impact assessment will point out that the Khewrs Circel road junction on
Ghodbunder Road will need a flyover.
Now there is no solution except to close the junction and let vehicles
use the Tikuji ni wadi Junction. After some years that junction will be
congested
3.) Inter governmental Department Coordination: The Thane Municipal
Corporation and the MSRDC could have coordinated during the planning stage of
the flyover to iron out possible issues like the one mentioned in point no 2
above. This did not happen and the result is a half baked solution to the
problem. Even now, when the flyover is complete the TMC in conjunction with the
Traffic Police should ensure that the signalized junction be closed which has
not happened.
These issues would not have arisen,
if the authorities had taken opinion and advice of independent professionals
for the Project. For Proper Planning TMC and Traffic Police should consider the
opinions and advise of Traffic and Transport Planning Experts. I am sure many
of them would be willing to help with opinions, for the betterment of their own
city
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