Mumbai Rains: Heavy Traffic Disrupts South And Western Routes In City

Mumbai: Heavy traffic congestion was reported across Mumbai on Wednesday evening, with gridlocks continuing late into the night, causing significant delays for motorists. South Mumbai (SoBo) was among the most affected areas, with major routes such as Mantralaya, Nariman Point, Colaba, CSMT railway station, Mahapalika Road, and P D'Mello Road witnessing severe traffic jams. While the Mumbai Traffic Police cited “sudden rains” as the cause, motorists contested this claim, saying there had been minimal rainfall.

“There were no rains while I was stuck in traffic. It may have drizzled earlier, but there wasn't any rain for the 20 minutes I was stranded. The green signal lasted only a few seconds,” said Rajdeep Singh, a commuter caught in the jam.

Another motorist, who agreed with Singh, said, “The green signal was on for barely 10 seconds. I was on the route toward the Freeway, and the short signal time led to long queues of vehicles.” The narrower roads leading to the Freeway, such as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road and P D’Mello Road, were also heavily congested, impacting movement on the Freeway. “In our jurisdiction (Sewri, Wadala), traffic toward the eastern suburbs began to clear as the Freeway is comparatively wider. The Freeway itself remained clear,” said a traffic official.

As traffic built up near CSMT, the situation worsened. A motorist reported that the road leading to Manish Market and JJ Flyover was clogged due to a backlog of vehicles. In addition, traffic on Lokmanya Tilak Marg and the narrow lanes of Kalbadevi was also affected. However, traffic police noted that while movement on JJ Flyover was slower than usual, the situation was eventually brought under control.

In the western suburbs, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) saw heavy congestion, particularly at the BKC Connector, Kalanagar Flyover, and the Western Express Highway. The gridlock extended to Dharavi’s 60 Feet Road, connecting Mahim-Sion Link Road and Sulochana Shetty Marg in Sion. Further east, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) was also clogged, especially near the Chembur end, with jams affecting the Kalina-Vakola Flyover on the Western Express Highway.