The Western Express Highway, abbreviated to WEH (officially Ali Yavar Jung Marg after the former Governor of Maharashtra), is a major north–south 8-10 lane arterial road in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, stretching from the suburb of
Mira Road to
Bandra
Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre ( �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate north of River Mithi, which separates B ...
. The
highway begins near the
Mahim Creek
Mahim Creek (locally known as ''Bandra ki Khadi'') is a creek in Mumbai, India. The Mithi River drains into the creek which drains into the Mahim Bay. The creek forms the boundary between the city and suburbs. The creek is swamped by mangroves ...
and extends to the Kashimira in the northern limit of the city till it connects
National Highway 48 at Ghodbunder village. The road connects the
city of Mumbai to its suburbs, including the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic a ...
.
Background
This highway has been instrumental in reducing congestion on SV Road in western part of the city. There are several flyovers built along sections Western Express Highway. The Andheri
Flyover (opened in 2002) was one of the flyovers built over the Western Express Highway to avoid
traffic lights
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...
for vehicles moving towards Vile Parle, Bandra and so on. Recently another project has been undertaken by the
MSRDC to construct a flyover bridge from Vile Parle Onwards to avoid regular
traffic jams
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...
that occur on the Highway. Other flyovers on the highway are the National Park, Dindoshi, Thakur Complex,
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...
, Pathanwadi, Goregaon,
JVLR, Centaur, Vakola, and the newly opened Kherwadi flyovers. Motorists can now travel with no traffic signal from Dahisar till Bandra. New
reflectors are installed on the Express highway for better visibility of the road during the night. Signs showing directions have also been set up at major junctions of the highway. Over the past decade, there have been major improvements including installation of better signage, improvements to landscaping and the introduction of marked lanes, painted kerbsides and pedestrian bridges.
The airport flyover, also known as
Sahar Elevated Access Road
The Sahar Elevated Access Road, abbreviated to SEAR, is a dedicated, elevated, express access road in Mumbai that connects the Western Express Highway (WEH) near Hanuman Nagar junction in Vile Parle, with the forecourts of Terminal T2 of the ...
, connects to the WEH using tunnels and bridges. The airport flyover was finished in 2014, and motorists on the WEH are able to access the new terminal with ease. The other alternative to the SEAR, is to turn east on to local streets which are relatively narrow, have poor lighting and have lower speed limits. The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja is placed near the entrance of the SEAR; previously this statue was located at the international terminal of the airport.
Link roads connecting WEH and EEH such as the
Jogeshwari – Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) and
Santa Cruz – Chembur Link Road
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
(SCLR) are the major arterial roads of the Mumbai suburban road network. Both the WEH and the EEH run along north to south direction and are parallel in certain sections.
Parallel Rail links
The highway largely parallels the
Western line of the
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway ( Marathi: मुंबई उपनगरीय रेल्वे) (colloquially called local trains or simply locals) consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines ser ...
.
As part of the
Mumbai Metro master plan, the
Red Line which is operational from April 2022 and
Line 9 (Mumbai Metro) its extension which is being constructed on the Western Express Highway from
Bhayander
Bhayandar is a suburb outside the Mumbai located near the Vasai Creek. It has a large Gujarati and Marwari population as well other mixed populations as well. It falls under the North Central ward of the Municipal Corporation.
Geography
Bhaya ...
to
Dahisar East to
Mumbai T2 Airport. It will have six interchanges with the Yellow, Aqua, Green, Gold and Red line extensions of the Mumbai Metro.
See also
*
Eastern Express Highway
*
SEAR
References
{{coord missing, Maharashtra
Roads in Mumbai
Expressways in Maharashtra