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After years of being a traffic choke point, the stretch over Agripada Subway of the Western Express Highway (WEH) has been widened, with the BMC adding one lane each to the northbound and southbound stretch. The move aims to ease congestion that worsened after the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road extension opened to traffic.

The 1.5-km stretch from the SCLR landing arm had routinely seen hour-long traffic snarls. mid-day spoke to locals and commuters to assess the impact of the widening.

North and south

The residing along the southbound service road said traffic flow has improved, particularly during non-peak hours. Prakash Rajwar, a mechanic working along the service road, said, “We have seen reduced traffic during the afternoon hours. Because there is an additional lane, more vehicles are passing through at the same time.”

Another local, Santosh Shinde, said pedestrian movement has also become easier. “In the morning peak hours, many people travel towards BKC from here. Now we are able to walk more easily along the road instead of constantly checking for vehicles. The widening has really helped us,” he said.

Residents, however, flagged that the newly widened portion is uneven compared to the existing road surface, raising concerns about rider discomfort over time. The northbound service road, which leads towards Milan Subway and connects the eastern and western sides of the railway tracks, continues to witness heavy congestion. 

Locals said the widening of the main highway has narrowed the service road, worsening movement and prompting some auto-rickshaw drivers to refuse passengers. An auto driver said, “I was stuck for 35 minutes. I couldn’t understand why the road felt so narrow until a traffic policeman explained that the highway widening had made the service road harder to pass.”

Slow-moving traffic on the Western Express Highway in Santacruz East during evening peak hours on Tuesday

A senior BMC official said, “The widening of the Agripada Subway stretch has helped ease traffic on the WEH by reducing criss-cross vehicular movement.”  Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said, “Because of the expansion traffic on the WEH has eased to some extent. Local residents are now happy as there are fewer vehicles on the service road.

Lighter traffic on the congested southbound service road of the highway in Santacruz East during evening peak hours on Tuesday

As per the original plan, it is proposed to construct a subway near Milan Subway on the WEH to facilitate traffic movement from the eastern side to the western side and vice versa,” he said, adding that this is aimed at reducing congestion on the service road.