Over 24,000 residents from 121 housing societies from Malabar Hill, Nepean Sea Road, and Breach Candy in South Mumbai have participated in a signature campaign urging Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to approve the construction of an additional exit-only road from the Coastal Road at Nepean Sea Road. The alignment proposed by residents for this ‘slip arm’ is proposed to be constructed just before the entry to the southbound tunnel of the structure at Malabar Hill.
A traffic snarl at Cumballa Hill
Residents have argued that the only existing exit in the area is at Breach Candy (Amarsons Interchange), which leads to congestion of traffic in densely populated residential areas, especially during peak hours. They have argued that while the Coastal Road reduces travel time between the Bandra-Worli Sealink toll booth and South Mumbai to eight to 10 minutes, it takes up to 25 minutes to travel 300 m from the Coastal Road exit past Mukesh Chowk in Breach Candy, because south-bound traffic exiting the Coastal Road converges before the chowk. Residents have even identified a plot in the possession of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), a portion of which can be utilised to construct the additional exit.
A senior civic official told mid-day on Monday evening, “This alignment is possible when MSRDC hands over its plot for construction of the additional exit.”
Citizens’ predicament
According to the BMC’s 2016 Coastal Road project report, the Amarsons Interchange is meant to offload Coastal Road traffic to a large catchment area comprising Breach Candy, Malabar Hill, Kemps Corner, Kalbadevi, Girgaon and Bhuleshwar. However, traffic jams due to a large number of vehicles exiting the Coastal Road at Breach Candy are adding 25 to 35 minutes to travel time for a 300-m stretch after the exit, according to residents of the area.
An aerial view of traffic chaos around the Amarsons Interchange
Rashi Gulati, a Nepean Sea Road resident, said, “Travelling from the Coastal Road exit to my home, a distance of a little over a kilometre, takes up to 30 minutes on heavy traffic days. After the exit at Breach Candy, the next exit is at Marine Drive, about 6 km away. As a result, a large amount of traffic on the Coastal Road is offloaded onto South Mumbai’s arterial roads. The point of the project was to ease traffic and make our commute easier.”
The petition
In response to the citizens’ campaign, 48 per cent of the 121 buildings that have signed the petition to unclog Breach Candy exit are residents of the area, followed by 40 per cent from Malabar Hill, and 12 per cent from Kemps Corner.
A resident said, “After highlighting the issue and potential solutions, residents have come forward in large numbers to enforce the solution. We have obtained physical signatures from managing committee members of 121 societies. Every resident has signed, resulting in 5266 households participating in the drive, with over 24,000 signatures. We have also received over 6700 online signatures.”
Resident Speak
Nandini Chabria, member, UnlockTheExit movement
‘The exit we have proposed for Nepean Sea Road will improve last-mile connectivity, reducing travel time and easing movement for emergency services. With multiple hospitals in the corridor, by providing an arm of the southbound exit at Nepean Sea Road, it will save time reaching hospitals. NSR exit of the Coastal Road is that crucial missing link that will ease the entire corridor by distributing traffic evenly’
Long time coming
The proposal for this exit at Nepean Sea Road was part of the original plan for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project.
1991: Development Plan proposed Nepean Sea Road exit
2011: Joint Technical Committee reiterated this plan
2016: DPR did not contain the Nepean Sea Road exit
2024-25: Traffic jams experienced in South Mumbai due to the traffic from the Coastal Road offloading at Breach Candy
May 4, 2025: Day residents submitted a letter with their proposal to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
Dec 2025: BMC wrote to MSRDC to hand over part of plot
What have residents proposed?
1 A two-lane, exit-only road from the southbound side of the Coastal Road at Nepean Sea Road
2 This is to be built on a 10.5-m wide strip of plot in possession of MSRDC abutting Embassy Apartments
Why?
>> The distance between the exit proposed at Nepean Sea Road and the existing one at Breach Candy would be approximately 2 km
>> It will help unload traffic into the city at two different points, unclogging Mukesh Chowk
Present scenario:
1 The current exit for South Mumbai is at Amarsons interchange, followed by the exit to the Coastal Road at Marine Drive before Princess Street Flyover, approximately 6 km away
2 The Amarsons Interchange offloads Coastal Road traffic to a large catchment: Breach Candy, Malabar Hill, Kemps Corner, but many internal roads have two-lane carriageways, creating bottlenecks
Future traffic pressures:
1 Residents have anticipated increased visitor traffic with the opening of the Coastal Gardens
2 Intense residential redevelopment of the area is also expected to exacerbate congestion
How to read map…
>> Circled is the current exit at Amarsons
>> The line is the proposed new exit
29.2 km
Total length of the Mumbai Coastal Road
