The Central Mumbai area, specifically the Currey Road and Elphinstone Road bridges were under experimentation in an attempt to ease traffic congestion. The bridge was made one-way for better flow of vehicles and to reduce travel time towards South Mumbai. However, just after four days of its launch, the plan was cancelled and the traffic police started allowing vehicles to operate in both directions once again on Monday.
The pilot plan upset motorists as it was brought into action without any prior notice or warning which they were unprepared for. The bridges were under a situation of chaos with several residents and Shiv Sena activists protesting against the same.
The experiment was meant to be carried out for 15 days starting on June 1. As the bridges connect Eastern and Western parts of Central Mumbai, the plan seemed useful to reduce travel time between Bharat Mata and Currey Road. However, the stretch could not buoy up the traffic load and hence created congestion.
In a study cited by the Joint Commissioner of traffic police, Amitesh Kumar, it was found that Parel was a major roadblock for commuters heading towards South Mumbai, as a result of which it took nearly 30 to 40 minutes to get from Bharat Mata to Currey Road. The department received several complaints from the commuters regarding the same. As the experiment failed to serve its purpose, the police realized that it needed modification
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