Mumbai: Traffic jams persist at Dahisar toll despite shifting lanes ahead on Western Express Highway

Despite shifting the Dahisar toll plaza ahead on the Western Express Highway to ease congestion traffic jams remain a daily headache Motorists using the highway and the Dahisar toll continue to express frustration as they find themselves stuck for long periodsThe state government had planned to move the toll plaza further ahead near Hotel Fountain on the MumbaiAhmedabad Highway However the National Highway Authority of India NHAI instructed the MSRDC that the shift cannot be carried out since it would reduce the minimum distance required between two toll plazasOn Monday midday visited the Western Express Highway WEH stretch leading to the Dahisar toll plaza during the morning peak hours and found a long snarl on the Borivli side The jam often stretches up to a kilometre not only in the morning rush but also in the evening when tourist and outstation traffic towards Ahmedabad increases Several regular motorists who routinely get stuck before the Dahisar toll on the northbound WEH have repeatedly voiced their frustration on social mediaPalghar resident Anand Patil a frequent commuter via the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway said ldquoThe Dahisar toll naka has always been a bottleneck Even after exempting private fourwheelers and shifting the toll plaza ahead the traffic situation has not improved It still takes nearly 30 minutes to cover a 300 to 400metre stretch Moving the toll has made no difference Authorities should not keep testing the patience of commuters With Metro Line 9 set to become operational soon the traffic is expected to worsen furtherrdquoDuring the visit it was also observed that the northbound jam extended all the way to the bridge before the toll plaza The lanes under the bridge near the signal were heavily congested as well Mira Road resident Vinod Jagdale who uses the stretch daily said ldquoMSRDC has shifted a few lanes of the existing toll ahead but in my experience it has only worsened the traffic The authorities should have planned this better so that motorists including senior citizens do not face such inconveniencerdquoResidents of Mira Bhayandar who are routinely stuck in traffic at the Dahisar toll have long demanded that the plaza be shifted In August Transport Minister and Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction MLA Pratap Sarnaik visited the site and assured that the toll plaza would be relocated Another motorist Raju Gaikwad said ldquoThe Dahisar toll traffic mess has gone unresolved for years and we expect the authorities to find a permanent solution These jams not only waste time but also add to pollution Shifting a few lanes has not helped at all In fact the situation has worsenedrdquoHiren Patel a motorist said ldquoWhat can we expect from the authorities This traffic mess has persisted for years and neither the government nor its agencies have managed to fix it Politicians and public representatives keep making promises but nothing changes In fact shifting some of the lanes has only made the congestion worserdquoMSRDC proposal to shift toll rejectedMSRDC had sent a proposal to the National Highway Authority of India seeking approval to shift the Dahisar toll plaza by two kilometres A few days ago NHAI rejected the proposal after which MSRDC created a new toll post around 100 metres from the existing one NHAI rejected the plan stating that it violated the Toll Fee Rules set by the Ministry of Road Transport and HighwaysWhat MSRDC saysAn MSRDC official said ldquoWe have not shifted the entire toll plaza We have only moved some lanes ahead This is called staggered shifting to reduce jams However we have observed that congestion near the toll plaza has not completely reduced because of ongoing Metro work before the Dahisar toll and the traffic signal near the plaza From our side we are doing everything possible to ensure vehicles pass through quickly and motorists do not face inconveniencerdquoIn 2024 govt exempted light vehicles of tollIn October 2024 the Mahayutiled state government officially exempted light vehicles school buses and state transport buses from paying toll at Mumbairsquos five entry and exit points The government had claimed the decision would benefit around 28 lakh light vehicle owners However according to MSRDC data for August 2024 an average of 206 lakh light vehicles passed through the five toll plazas daily The toll plazas where the waiver is implemented are located at Vashi Airoli Mulund LBS Road Anand Nagar Eastern Express Highway and Dahisar