place: Dr Eliza Moses Road or E Musa Road between Worli Naka and Mahalaxmi Race Course in Worli, Mumbai.
For Dug-ups: Construction of Mumbai Metro Line 3 stations and tunneling work on E Musa Road between proposed Acharya Atre Marg and Mahalaxmi stations.
Project Importance: Mumbai Metro Line-3 will run along the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz corridor connecting major financial centers of Mumbai. Once implemented, the MML-3 will reduce traffic by about 35% or 4.5 lakh vehicles, thereby reducing congestion on the roads. Travel time on the route will be reduced from 100 minutes to 50 minutes.
implementing agency: Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), a joint venture of Government of India and Government of Maharashtra
Total cost of the project: While the initial cost was Rs 23,000 crore, it has now been revised to Rs 33,000 crore
Work started: 2016
Starting Deadline: June 2022
Revised Deadline: after 2024
Reasons given for the delay: Civil, electrical and station work is pending on the section. Also, the issue of Metro 3 car sheds in Aarey Colony and Kanjurmarg, on which the state and central governments are at loggerheads.
Significance of the road: E Musa Road stretches from Mahalaxmi Railway Station to Worli Naka. It sees heavy traffic as motorists travel back and forth from the western end of central Mumbai such as Worli and Dadar (West) to south Mumbai or east Mumbai to Mahalaxmi station via the East-West Bridge. Rakhangi Chowk Mahalaxmi Race Course has an intersection on E Musa Road where vehicles pass from three sides (Worli Naka, Mahalaxmi Station and Lower Parel.)
Barricades on two of the three sides of Rakhangi Chowk ((Lower Parel and Worli Naka Side) and its Worli Naka stretch on both sides of E Musa Road create trouble during peak hours.
“There is a lot of traffic due to barricading on E Musa Road from Worli Naka to Science Center. Two U-turns near BMC garage and BMC office have been removed, so we get stuck in traffic. The three lanes for vehicles and the fourth parking lane have been reduced to just two lanes,” complains Pradeep Jaiswal, a taxi driver who lives near Worli Naka. “Our taxi stand has also been removed, making it difficult for passengers to get off. Our precious time is wasted due to traffic and fuel and this affects our daily business.
Problems due to the project: Ashok Chedda, 62, who runs Ashok Chai Kendra, a general store at Worli Naka on E Musa Road for over 60 years, said, “Our business is affected by about 75 per cent due to this work of Metro. 2016. Many shops in our area remained closed. The first two years we couldn’t even speak because the drilling noise was so loud. The incidents of theft have also increased due to narrow streets. The target was 2021 but looks like it will take a few more years. Now, there is no parking space for customers as barricades have come up right in front of our shop. Even senior citizens who were our customers do not come here because of road digging.
Rajesh Jethani, who runs his native Sunbeam Guest House, which is 45 years old, said, “Seventy per cent of our business got affected because of this work in the metro as we do not have proper access to guesthouses. Part of the footpath is gone and the road outside our campus has been dug up to four floors. In the first few years, many customers left because there was too much drilling noise. There was some parking slot in the nearby area but it was gone after Metro work started. Now customers are coming through oral reviews.”
A 57-year-old officer from the BMC engineering hub near Worli naka, who lives in Malad, said, “While going home, I walk about 2 km daily till Mahalaxmi railway station instead of waiting for a shared taxi as it is mostly Unavailable and there are long queues. The frequency of the BEST bus is not good and further, it is overcrowded and people are hanging outside the door. Most of the people in our office are repairing Central Line and Delisle Road Bridge ie East-West Bridge in Lower Parel, people have to use Elphinstone or Mahalaxmi Marg to reach stations on Central Line. Due to the jam due to metro work, the movement of vehicles has increased.
A traffic police constable posted at Rakhangi Chowk said, “Delisle Bridge in Lower Parel is under repair, so vehicular traffic from Delisle Road towards South Mumbai gets diverted here. Also, there is heavy traffic at this chowk even during peak hours. Traffic problem increased due to metro work but people use it Google Map to avoid this road. ,