One of the longest-pending infrastructure projects in Mumbai will be in limbo for longer. The state is having second thoughts on the Peddar Road flyover, which was conceived almost two decades ago. The controversial project might be given a burial in case the Priyadarshini Park to Haji Ali stretch of the proposed coastal road comes up fast.

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This solution may help de-congest the bottlenecks on Peddar Road, Cadbury junction and Haji Ali without the construction of the flyover, as the 35.6 km coastal road, expected to run from Nariman Point to Kandivali, will serve as an alternate route.

"The future of the Peddar Road project depends on the view that the BMC takes on the coastal road project. The civic body may split the work into segments so that it is completed fast. If the Haji Ali to Tambe chowk section of the coastal road can be expedited, the Peddar road flyover can wait. Once a call is taken on the coastal road, a decision can be taken on Peddar Road as well," said BC Khatua, project director of the state government think-tank Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU).

The Peddar road flyover was among the issues discussed in the meeting of the state empowered committee earlier in October.

"Once the Tambe Chowk to Priyadarshini Park stretch of the coastal road comes up, Peddar Road will be completely de-congested. So, this will serve as an alternative to the flyover. The Tambe chowk to Priyadarshani park section will be a tunnel and the further stretch will be a road along the coast to Haji Ali, where there will be an interchange to enable people to exit for Tardeo or go further to Worli and Bandra. This will do away with the traffic at Haji Ali," said a senior BMC official.

"We are appointing a consultant to have a re-look at the alignment of the coastal road. Some changes to it may be made," he added.

For the record, however, all three options for the Peddar Road project, namely two small flyovers, underpasses and a combination of both — a flyover and an underpass – are on board.

The hybrid solution, which may see a flyover between Lala Lajpatrai College near Haji Ali and Peddar Road and an underpass from the reverse direction for north-bound traffic, seems to be more feasible, noted officials. One arm of the underpass, which can begin near Doctors House, can even go towards Tardeo with the other opening up near the Lala Lajpatrai college, though the landing of the flyover on Peddar road can be decided depending on the feasibility.

This project, which is one of the longest-pending infrastructure augmentation plans in Mumbai, was languishing since it was conceived in the late 1990s during the days of the Shiv Sena- BJP led government, largely due to opposition from the celebrity residents.

It has been taken away from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which was insisting that the original plan for a 4.2 km flyover from near Lala Lajpatrai College to Tambe Chowk near Chowpatty be implemented as it is. The project will now be undertaken by the BMC.

The altered plans will ease traffic flow on the arterial road, which links South Mumbai to the suburbs and may involve lesser costs and shorter gestation period.