Mumbai: Every road, lane in this Borivli area is dug up!

Multiple roads being dug up simultaneously in the Chikuwadi area of Borivli have created a practical maze for residents motorists and pedestrians The situation has become so dire that locals prefer travelling 5 to 6 extra kilometres through Gorai to reach Chikuwadi instead of directly entering via Link Road just to avoid the mess caused by blocked roads and dugup lanes The Shimpoli Telephone Exchange signal has become the epicentre of the traffic chaos resulting from the roadworkA biker is forced to use the footpath at Kanti Park RoadTelephone Exchange SignalThis signal a fourroad junction has become a hotspot for traffic congestion as three out of four roads at the junction have been dug up simultaneously This leads to massive traffic jams especially during peak hours Adding to the chaos an independent excavation site has been dug up at the intersection exacerbating the gridlockBEST staff move barricades and try manage traffic on Kanti Park Road on TuesdayLink RoadThe New Link Road a major arterial road connecting Kandivli Borivli and Dahisar has been dug up on both the northbound and southbound stretches at the Shimpoli Telephone Exchange signal On the northbound stretch below the Shimpoli Metro Station two lanes have been dug up leaving just one lane for vehicles Similarly one lane on the southbound stretch has also been excavated leaving only two lanes open This arterial road witnesses heavy traffic during peak hours further aggravating the situationBoth eastbound and westbound roads dug up in Chikuwadi right in circle biker forced to use the footpath on Kanti Park Road PicNimesh DaveSandesh Gosavi a local resident said ldquoWhen the northbound road wasnrsquot dug up it used to take a maximum of 5 minutes to reach the Shimpoli Telephone Exchange signal from RM Bhattad Road Now it takes 15ndash20 minutes during nonpeak hours and 20ndash25 minutes during peak hours to cover this 500metre stretch Now theyrsquove also started digging the southbound road which is worsening the chaosrdquoKanti Park RoadThe eastbound section of Kanti Park Road leading to the Shimpoli signal has been fully dug up forcing traffic onto the westbound road This creates a bottleneck especially when large vehicles or BEST buses from opposite directions meet often bringing traffic to a standstillThe ongoing concreting work on Chikuwadi Road near Phoenix HospitalA local said ldquoWhen two large vehicles or buses meet on this stretch it creates a mega gridlock halting all movement We see drivers and conductors stepping out of their vehicles to clear the congestion A 300metre stretch feels like a kilometrelong ordeal due to heavy trafficrdquoA BEST conductor said ldquoThis has become a new normal for us If two of our own vehicles come face to face on this road there is no other way but to get down from the bus and clear out the congestion so that the traffic starts moving againrdquo The road is also dug up on the eastbound lane again at 400 metres distance from Shimpoli SignalShimpoli RoadOne lane each on the eastbound and westbound sides has been dug up on Shimpoli Road leaving only one lane for traffic in each direction This road leads to Shimpoli Telephone Exchange signal adding to chaosBEST staff gets down from bus to manage the traffic on Kanti Park road on Tuesday PicsNimesh DaveIndependent dugup spotIn addition to the incoming and outgoing roads being dug up an independent excavation site has been created on the northern end of the Link Road at the junction further worsening traffic congestionChikuwadi RoadChikuwadi Road has been excavated at two locations One section has been completely closed to traffic while the eastbound section from Phoenix Hospital to the closed portion has also been dug upComplete traffic closureThe section where the Link Road meets RM Bhattad Road is entirely closed to traffic forcing vehicles to reroute and adding to the congestion at the Shimpoli signalEastbound dugup sectionThe eastbound stretch near Phoenix Hospital has been excavated further aggravating traffic on the Shimpoli Telephone Exchange Road A local said ldquoThere is no planning in this development Therersquos a hospital nearby and critical patients canrsquot reach it without getting stuck in the Shimpoli traffic Every second counts in emergenciesrdquoPM Kulkarni RoadThe southbound stretch of PM Kulkarni Road has also been dug up This road leads to Shimpoli Road eventually connecting to the Shimpoli Telephone Exchange signalA way around chaosBharti Dave a teacher and Chikuwadi resident said ldquoEarlier it took just 20 minutes to travel the 25 km from Borivli Station to my home near Padma Nagar Now I take a 55 km detour via LT Road Don Bosco High School and Maxus Theatre Gorairdquo ldquoWersquore not against development but this isnrsquot the way to do it All roads shouldnrsquot be dug up togetherrdquo she addedPedestrians affectedDuring gridlocks at the Shimpoli signal bikers often ride on footpaths endangering pedestrians Prashik Kamble a local said ldquoThe other day a pedestrian narrowly escaped an accident when another pedestrian pulled them away from a speeding biker on the footpathrdquoTraffic police speakSenior PI Lokre MHB Colony traffic divisionSenior PI Lokre of the MHB Colony traffic division said ldquoWe station wardens at the junction to manage the chaos The simultaneous digging of roads is causing traffic issues Wersquore working on diversions and have sent letters to BEST for alternative bus routes until the roadwork is completedrdquoBMC respondsSandhya Nandekar assistant municipal commissioner RCentral WardldquoThis falls under the jurisdiction of the chief engineer for Roads and not the wardrdquo midday attempted to contact Manishkumar Patel chief engineer Roads but he was unavailable for commentActivist SpeaksGopal Javeri Civic activistldquoStart and end dates for projects should be displayed at work sites along with traffic diversions and safety directions GPS mapping of ongoing projects could alert citizens to avoid such areasrdquo