Lower Parel flyover: BMC to install LED lights, asks MSRDC to construct divider

The Phoenix Lower Parel flyover on Monday evening. It doesn’t have a divider

More than a month after two men in their late 20s lost their lives after a car abruptly made a U-turn in the middle of the Phoenix Lower Parel flyover, on the request of the police, the BMC will install LED lights and signage warning motorists of the perils of a sudden U-turn, said officials. It is also in talks with MSRDC for a divider on the overpass.

On September 29, two salesmen coming on a bike from Worli dashed into a car going from Dadar towards Mahalaxmi after the man at the wheel took a sudden U-turn. While the car driver, later identified as a restaurant manager, fled, the two men on the bike died.

The flyover runs between Elphinstone and Lower Parel. File pic

Following the accident, Pratap Bhosale, senior inspector of N M Joshi Marg police station, wrote to the civic body demanding installation of a median on the flyover as it will prevent motorists from randomly making U-turns. "I have written a letter to BMC requesting them to install the divider but I have not received a reply yet," said Bhosale.

G-south ward officer Sharad Ughade said they are in touch with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for the divider as the flyover falls in its jurisdiction. "We are installing LED lights on the flyover and also putting up a signboard appealing citizens not to take sudden U-turns in the middle of it," he said.

Vijay Hatiskar, senior PI from Worli police station, said he too has written to the BMC and MSRDC on the need for a median on the overpass. "The bridge starting from Elphinstone and ending at Lower Parel has no divider. A vehicle suddenly made a U-turn in the middle due to which two people died on the flyover. Plan measures to install a divider on the flyover so that such accidents do not happen," reads his letter.

Krishna Kurhardkar and Bhavesh Sanghvi died in the mishap

A traffic official said the flyover is a busy bridge but is a bit narrow. He said, "There are two lanes each on the up and down sides. We are considering opening up three lanes in the direction where traffic is high and will put up flexible barricades accordingly."

The efforts to install a divider was triggered by an accident on the bridge on the night of September 29. As per the police, a car going from Dadar towards Mahalaxmi suddenly made a U-turn. As a result, a two-wheeler rider could not control his bike and rammed it into the car. The biker and his pillion - Bhavesh Sanghvi, 28, and Krishna Kurhardkar, 26 - died in the mishap. Both were employees at Worli's 3M car showroom and were returning home after work.

The car driver, Amit Kumar, sped away from the spot and was arrested later with help of CCTV footage from roads leading to the flyover. Bhavesh lived in Ghatkopar and was funding his wife's education. Krishna had been married for two-and-a-half years and has a one-year-old daughter.

Sept 29
When an accident left two dead on the flyover