Mumbai: BMC has given in-principle nod to demolish the seven-year-old Veer Savarkar flyover in Goregaon to make way for a double-decker bridge connecting Mumbai Coastal Road (North)’s Malad-Mindspace stretch to Dindoshi, additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar confirmed on Wednesday. The new elevated bridge is part of the Coastal Road 2 project, which will connect Versova and Dahisar.The flyover demolition proposal is awaiting final approval from the municipal commissioner. If cleared, a double-decker bridge supported on a single pier will be built to link Coastal Road with Goregaon-Mulund Link Road.Built at a cost of Rs 27 crore, Savarkar flyover runs from Radisson Hotel to Rustomjee Ozone. Bangar told TOI, “Several options were studied to see which would be the best in terms of efficiency. It was finally decided that a double-decker bridge will take care of both the localised traffic as well as the connector needed from Malad to Dindoshi.”In the first week of Aug, motorists noticed that piling work for the connector had started at Dindoshi. Bangar said as it is a long bridge from Dindoshi to Malad, Savarkar flyover may not necessarily be demolished in this fair season, which begins after rains.Local residents and motorists, however, are bracing for traffic chaos. Many also fear a repeat of the infamous Gokhale-Barfiwala “misaligned” flyovers fiasco, that drew national attention in 2022.With Savarkar flyover carrying heavy east-west traffic load, former Goregaon corporator Deepak Thakur said its demolition will choke the already burdened Western Express Highway. “We suffered enough when it was built, and now we’re staring at the same nightmare again. We hope to make suggestions for BMC to consider carrying out the work without demolishing the flyover,” said Thakur. His mother is BJP MLA Vidya Thakur from Goregaon assembly constituency.Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh from Malad assembly constituency has also opposed the demolition of the flyover. Not just Goregaon, even Malad will see severe traffic congestion, and the snarls are expected to intensify whenever demolition begins, he pointed out. Former corporator Sandeep Patel said planners should have factored in the fact that the flyover was built just seven years ago.
