Team Blitz India
MUMBAI: Traffic flow on the Coastal Road has regularised after the joyrides in the first week of its opening. These days, the maximum flow of traffic is seen during morning rush hours. The average number of vehicles plying every day, from Worli to Nariman Point has been around 20,000. The road has been partially open for traffic since the second week of March.
The first-week rush of joyrides on the newly commissioned route seems to have reduced in the third week with the number of vehicles taking the route being constant, around 20,000-21,000. The number of motorists using the partially open Coastal Road grew from 16,331 on March 12, the day vehicles were allowed on the route for the first time, to 22,880 on March 15, indicating a 40 per cent increase. The highest traffic count on all these days was seen between 3 pm and 4 pm and not during the morning peak hours when overall southbound movement in the city is at its peak.
Recently, the numbers of total vehicles on the first three days were 21,718, 20263 and 20,826, respectively. The maximum traffic on these days was seen between 9 am and 12 pm, with an average of 6,600 vehicles (35 per cent) crossing the road during these hours. Once the Worli and Haji Ali interchanges open and the Coastal Road connects with the sea link, many more motorists will opt for the route,” said an official from BMC’s Coastal Road department.
The lanes of the Coastal Road from Worli to Marine Lines are open to commuters between 8 am and 5 pm, from Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk in Worli from 8 am to 8 pm from other entry points like Copper Chimney restaurant and Amarsons Garden. The road is closed on weekends so that the remaining work can be completed within the given timeframe.
