Mumbai: A year after Mumbai Coastal Road-south was thrown open for 24×7 operations on Aug 15, 2025, average daily traffic on the stretch has risen by nearly 81%, from around 34,500 vehicles a day to 62,640. At the time, planners estimated that nearly 68,000 cars would use the road in one direction alone once commissioned, with traffic expected to be redistributed from Bandra-Worli Sea Link and Pedder Road-Hughes Road corridor. However, the road is yet to see the traffic volumes projected when it was in the planning stage.
The total cost of the road’s construction is Rs 13,984 crore. Before round-the-clock operations began, the road — which had been opened in phases from March 2024 — was available to motorists for only 16 hours a day, from 7 am to midnight. During this period, the average daily traffic was 19,209 vehicles southbound and 15,330 northbound, or 34,538 vehicles in all. The average daily traffic rose to 33,077 vehicles southbound and 29,563 northbound, taking the combined figure to 62,640. Before Aug 15, 2025, Coastal Road recorded an average of about 11.35 lakh vehicle movements a month — 5.76 lakh southbound and 5.58 lakh northbound. In the year since it became a 24×7 road, this has climbed to nearly 18.79 lakh vehicle movements a month, an increase of around 66%. And since the first section of Coastal Road was inaugurated in March 2024, 4.11 crore (41.1 million) vehicles have used the south section of the project.
Because rescue vehicles could not move freely due to panic among motorists,” an official said, the delay in case of the July incident in resuming traffic occurred. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in Mumbai Stay updated with the latest Mumbai news. But once motorists got access to the road through the entire day and night, usage climbed sharply. The jump is also reflected in the monthly numbers. Civic officials, however, state that Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICC) located at the edge of the interchange of Mumbai Coastal Road at Breach Candy integrates traffic management, tunnel ventilation, firefighting, surveillance and mechanical and electrical systems on a single platform. “Our systems have always worked exactly as designed in case of a fire in the tunnels over the two years. Download the TOI App.
In another incident in July again, maintenance workers discovered that thieves had removed bolts and copper wiring from an electric pole at Worli, leaving the 12-metre-high structure vulnerable to collapse over the busy road.
This does not mean the city’s traffic has improved; it only means some of the traffic has been diverted on the new road,” he said. He described the project as a “very myopic” approach focused largely on private car users, arguing that it has not been accompanied by a corresponding strengthening of public transport. “There is nothing wrong with building a road for private cars, but the problem is when such a project is pursued without strengthening public transport,” he said. Susieben Shah, general secretary of Malabar Hill Citizens Forum, which has maintained Priyadarshani Park and Sports Complex on Nepean Sea Road since 1985, said that Coastal Road had been a “game changer” for residents. Shah said, pointing to the improved connectivity which she believes has also helped save not only time but also fuel. So hopefully coastal road is extended northwards it could help to streamline traffic further,” she said, further adding that she also witnessed many use the adjoining coastal road promenade until late-night hours, but added that the area needs to be well-lit and safer. Transport expert Vivek Pai said such incidents are always factored into the planning of a project of this scale, and that the focus now should be on preparedness rather than panic. What is important is to have regular drills and ensure motorists know how to respond when something goes wrong,” Pai said. He said Coastal Road was part of a larger network that has already transformed travel to south Mumbai from areas such as Bandra. “Once the Versova-Bandra Sea Link is completed, the benefits will extend further to motorists from Andheri West and Versova,” he said.
Abraham also questioned whether adding road capacity necessarily translates into better traffic conditions. “When you build more roads, you will get more cars. He pointed to the weakening of BEST services and the limited options for buses, pedestrians and two-wheelers on the corridor. “We look forward to the extension towards the north now. It will be a game changer. Currently if one takes the coastal road while the commute is smooth till Bandra but then the MHADA junction in Bandra East and again near the university is where the traffic congestion is seen. However, the lack of public transportation continues to be a flashpoint, with MLA Rais Shaikh recently asking the authorities to deploy additional BEST buses on Mumbai Coastal Road. Currently, the signal-free road prohibits pedestrians, two-wheelers and heavy vehicles, leaving public transit users reliant entirely on BEST buses. In a formal letter addressed to BEST general manager, Shaikh pointed out that the project risks turning into an exclusive corridor for car and cab owners despite being financed entirely by taxpayer money. Only two routes—A84 (Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chowk to Oshiwara Depot) and A78 (NCPA to Byculla)—are presently operational along the route. Over the past two years, the project has also faced its share of problems. These have included incidents involving fires and water leakage in tunnels, besides theft of cables and other infrastructure. In one potentially serious incident this July, panic gripped motorists, some of whom left their cars and ran out after another car caught fire inside the southbound tunnel of Mumbai Coastal Road below Girgaon Chowpatty, forcing authorities to temporarily shut traffic and triggering a major traffic jam along the Breach Candy stretch. The timely detection averted what could have been a potentially fatal accident. “Planners make SOPs for such situations. The incident in July will not be the first or the last.
“We now jokingly wonder how did we travel without this earlier?
However, Bandra-based architect and urban planner Alan Abraham said that despite the enormous cost of building Coastal Road, the project is yet to realise its full potential, with traffic volumes still falling well short of the projections made when it was planned. At present, he pointed out, the road is carrying only about half the traffic that was originally expected.