Mumbai Targets Skidding Risks On Mrinal Tai Gore Flyover
Mumbai’s Mrinal Tai Gore Flyover extension is undergoing additional safety work after a truck collision sent part of its sound barrier onto S V Road near Oshiwara market. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has begun installing 15 mm-thick rumble strips at identified bends and slopes, alongside plans for warning and speed-limit signs. The intervention brings renewed attention to how road design, heavy-vehicle movement and maintenance are managed on newly built urban infrastructure. The civic body has identified four locations on the flyover where changes in gradient and direction could create greater control risks. Rumble strips have already been installed at two locations, with two more planned. The raised strips are intended to alert drivers through vibration and noise, encouraging lower speeds before vehicles approach sections requiring greater control.
The latest action follows a truck crash in which the vehicle struck the flyover’s retaining wall, causing part of the sound barrier to fall on the road below. No injuries were reported, but the location is significant because S V Road carries substantial traffic and pedestrian activity. A similar incident involving noise-barrier panels was reported in June, shortly after the extension opened, when a dumper collided with the structure near the Relief Road junction. The repeated incidents also put the road surface under scrutiny. Residents have reported skidding by two-wheelers, particularly around sections with sharp turns and slopes. Recent reporting indicates that the smooth mastic asphalt surface has become a concern for some road users, while the civic administration had previously used aggregate treatment to improve friction.
For Mumbai’s expanding elevated road network, the issue goes beyond one flyover. Urban transport specialists say safety treatments need to account for vehicle mix, gradients, drainage, surface friction and driver behaviour together rather than relying on a single intervention. This is particularly relevant on corridors shared by cars, motorcycles and heavy commercial vehicles, where differences in braking and handling can increase risk. The BMC now plans to add cautionary and speed-limit signage and repair damaged sound barriers. The effectiveness of the measures will depend on whether they reduce skidding and excessive speed across the full corridor, rather than only at the four identified points. Speed monitoring and periodic safety audits could also help establish whether the changes are working.
For a city investing heavily in elevated transport infrastructure, maintaining safe connections is as important as adding capacity. The next test for the Mrinal Tai Gore extension will be whether these corrective measures produce a safer, more predictable road environment for both motorists and people using the streets below.
