Civic body struggles to find a consultant, delaying crucial traffic solutions
These projects will help ease the city’s traffic conditions. File pic/Ashish Raje
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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is struggling to get a response to its bid for appointing a consultant for a multimodal tunnel connectivity project. This delay could impact further progress, but BMC officials insist it will not derail the project.
An official working on the project explained, "This initiative aims to ease traffic congestion in Mumbai. We are primarily considering a tunnel, but if that is not feasible, a bridge could be an alternative. The consultant will identify traffic bottlenecks across the city and propose the tunnel's design." "This is a major project. We held a pre-bid meeting with a few companies, and they had several queries. Interested firms are assessing the scope of work, which is common for projects of this scale. It takes time for companies to fully understand the requirements," the official added.
Despite the delay in appointing a consultant, officials maintain that it will not impact other projects. "The BMC has planned several mega infrastructure projects like the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, Versova-Dahisar Link Road, and Dahisar-Mira Bhayandar connector. Additionally, government agencies are working on the Metro rail project and the Borivli-Thane tunnel. These projects will significantly transform the city's traffic conditions, so planning needs to be done accordingly. The lack of response to the bid will not delay the overall project," the official reiterated.
The BMC first invited bids for the consultant in February 2024 to prepare a master plan and project report for the tunnel. However, the project was later put on hold. The civic body reissued the bid in January 2025, extending the submission deadline to February 2025. The latest deadline for submission is now April 4, 2025.
The consultancy contract will last for 66 months, during which the consultant will conduct field studies, including moving car surveys, to determine running and journey times. "The data will be analysed to pinpoint congestion-prone areas and typical traffic flow issues. The aim is to reduce surface traffic load, which will also help during flooding and major accidents," the official said.
Key bottlenecks
>> Prabhadevi Junction, Saat Rasta
>> Sion signal near Sion Circle, Kurla signal near EEH, Kamraj Nagar Junction
