[filcord]

I'll be making my first foray into mumbai traffic end of this month, travelling from Goa to Mumbai. There will be my better half and three noisy kids on board the SX4. As you can imagine, the last thing I need is to get lost and stuck in traffic.
I need some pointers on the best route to take from the Vashi bridge to Fort (Madame Cama road). I know there are a lot of new fly-overs in south Mumbai.
We would be coming from Pune, and I plan to enter Mumbai around 7 am to take advantage of less traffic. Might it be better to come in around 11 a.m?

Google Maps threw up two routes, and Yahoo gave me a third, so am thoroughly confused.

[msupercool]

Originally Posted by filcord

I'll be making my first foray into mumbai traffic end of this month, travelling from Goa to Mumbai. There will be my better half and three noisy kids on board the SX4. As you can imagine, the last thing I need is to get lost and stuck in traffic.
I need some pointers on the best route to take from the Vashi bridge to Fort (Madame Cama road). I know there are a lot of new fly-overs in south Mumbai.
We would be coming from Pune, and I plan to enter Mumbai around 7 am to take advantage of less traffic. Might it be better to come in around 11 a.m?

Google Maps threw up two routes, and Yahoo gave me a third, so am thoroughly confused.

After crossing Vashi bridge take a right for Deonar and keep going straight you will reach the eastern expressway. Once you on the Eastern expressway just keep driving straight its a long way. Then you should reach fort in like 45-60mins depending on the traffic.Drive safe

[goandude]

Originally Posted by msupercool

After crossing Vashi bridge take a right for Deonar and keep going straight you will reach the eastern expressway. Once you on the Eastern expressway just keep driving straight its a long way. Then you should reach fort in like 45-60mins depending on the traffic.Drive safe

+1 to above but must add..
when you reach the EEH from Deonar road take left for Dadar /Sion. But you must keep right 1.3 kms AFTER the left turn for chembur. Here there are plastic uprights demarcating right most lane which is one way over the flyover. (If you miss this then you enter the mess underneath with traffic mostly going under the flyover to western suburbs.) OK Once over this there are flyovers till one finds flyover construction going on. Keep on going you should reach JJ flyover and then it is straight forward to Fort.

Also the right turn after Vashi bridge (for deonar / Ghatkopar) is tricky to spot it is under a one way flyover. two lanes are for right turn

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by goandude

Also the right turn after Vashi bridge (for deonar / Ghatkopar) is tricky to spot it is under a one way flyover. two lanes are for right turn

Even if he misses the right turn after Vashi bridge and goes straight would he not reach Chembur/ Sion?

The last time I went the traffic at Deonar road was much worse, but it could be due to bad timing too

[goandude]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Even if he misses the right turn after Vashi bridge and goes straight would he not reach Chembur/ Sion? Yes he would but traffic and lights here are a pain

The last time I went the traffic at Deonar road was much worse, but it could be due to bad timing too

Must add a few distances to help
Expressway end to Deonar turn 13.2 km
Deonar turn to Easter express highway 4.2 km
EEH to SION flyover which I had ref to in my previous post 3.6 km
Sion flyover to JJ flyover 11.7 km

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by goandude

Must add a few distances to help
Expressway end to Deonar turn 13.2 km
Deonar turn to Easter express highway 4.2 km
EEH to SION flyover which I had ref to in my previous post 3.6 km
Sion flyover to JJ flyover 11.7 km

Aah yes, thats so true. In fact can I add a question here? (@filcord - dont intend to hijack the thread!)

I have to drive from Pune to Borivli - is it imperative that I drive through Sion/ Dharavi or Ghatkopar or is there another route I can take? Also, I would be travelling on a weekend, so would it be better to arrive around noon to face less traffic?

I appreciate any advise you can provide

[benzinblut]

Most of your questions have been answered. My advice on the timing:

Originally Posted by filcord

I plan to enter Mumbai around 7 am to take advantage of less traffic. Might it be better to come in around 11 a.m?

The distance is not much and so you dont have to actually plan your entry. You could take 1-2.5 hours based on traffic conditions.

Prefer the 7am slot. Its fun driving at this time and you will find open roads. Traffic is bad after 9am when the trucks are allowed to enter the city limits.

PS: I have noted that the traffic is especially less during office peak traffic time during May. This is especially observed in my morning drive to office. Evenings though are the same. Has anyone observed this?

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Aah yes, thats so true. In fact can I add a question here? (@filcord - dont intend to hijack the thread!)

I have to drive from Pune to Borivli - is it imperative that I drive through Sion/ Dharavi or Ghatkopar or is there another route I can take? Also, I would be travelling on a weekend, so would it be better to arrive around noon to face less traffic?

I appreciate any advise you can provide

After crossing Nerul (D.Y.Patil Stadium) instead of taking the flyover which takes you towards Vashi you can go straight towards Turbhe. Continue on that long road and take the left turn which goes towards Airoli bridge. Once you cross the bridge you would be on the Eastern Express Highway. From there you can go via Powai to Borivali.

@filcord - I would also suggest you hit Mumbai roads as early as possible. But if you are travelling from Goa how do you intend to touch Vashi at 7 AM? Are you planning a all night drive? I personally would not suggest that.

[filcord]

amit , we're coming in from Pune

[parsh]

Just in case there is confusion on the route from Vashi Bridge to EE, Chembur, Priyadarshini junction:

There is ONLY Right Turn (T-Junction) on the Sion-Panvel Expressway after Vashi Bridge. This Right Turn goes as Ghatkopar Mankhurd Link Road.

Do not take this right turn but continue on the road straight after Vashi Bridge.
For this, Do Not get into the 2 Right Lanes (towards center of road) otherwise, you will get stranded at this Right Turn unable to get into your desired main road, a complete circus will be required to take U-turn etc etc or will need to go upto Ghatkopar on EE.

Then onwards, go straight without worrying about turns.

You will land up at a BIG circle - Chembur Circle which has about 4 roads diverging from it leaving this road that you come through.

Leave the 1st gully-like road, the 2nd seemingly wide road, I think, 90 feet road and enter the 3rd wide 90 feet road. That is the road to the EE, Chembur Junction. You would also pass Diamond Gargen of Chembur en-route.
DO NOT again go into the Rightmost lane. Just take this road straight through all signals and you should land up at the Chembur Junction on the EE near Priyadarshini Circle, T-Junction, No Left Turn, Only Right going towards Sion-Dadar...

Once here, the road is straight to the Fort as explained above.

[allauddin]

I would suggest to take the Ghatkopar link road which does not have too many diversions.

After vashi bridge take the first Right turn which is exactly at 2KM from the check post (Octroi Naka ) after this you dont have any diversions - keep straight, After 3.5Kms keep left, finally you will reach the EE junction called chedda nagar junction here you need to take LEFT turn, now again there is no more diversions keep straight now you will reach the priyadarshini junction again you need only to keep straight. ( difference in distance will be only +800 Mtrs ) Rest you can follow as suggested by others.

Why I am suggesting this route is less diversions less signals wider road.

Watch out for speed brakers on this road. There is no sign board for the speed brakers, so be careful.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

After crossing Nerul (D.Y.Patil Stadium) of taking the flyover which takes you towards Vashi you can go straight towards Turbhe. Continue on that long road and take the left turn which goes towards Airoli bridge. Once you cross the bridge you would be on the Eastern Express Highway. From there you can go via Powai to Borivali.

Thanks Amit, I presume you meant the flyover after juinagar. I did the Vashi-airoli-powai route for a few weeks in 2002; totally forgot about it! Now I must also consider visiting a friend in Thane
Isn't there one more route from Thane to Borivli? I think it's on Thane Ghodbunder road
Thanks for the info, it seems like you are a regular commuter though your location shows as Pune

[gostel]

Hi Filcord,
Welcome to Mumbai. I did the google map get-directions and got 3 options. I would prefer the third option: Yaswanth Rao Chavan Marg and EEH/NH3, especially if you are entering Mumbai at 7am. In fact I would prefer 7am as the traffic is wee at this time of the morning and you can breeze through. Chembur traffic jam can be troublesome if you arrive later.

The route is pretty straightforward: Vashi bridge, Deonar Circle, Diamond Garden junction, Chembur Naka, Suman Nagar junction, Sion Circle flyover, King's Circle (perhaps flyover open), Dadar circle flyover, Jaihind Flyover, Parel flyover, Lalbaug (keep left at junction) crawlunder the long flyover (hehe), Rani Baug, Byculla flyover, JJ Flyover, Flora Fountain, Museum (Regal Circle), YWCA / Madame Cama Road.

Have fun, drive safe.

[filcord]

@gostel , what do you mean by "perhaps flyover open"?

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Thanks Amit, I presume you meant the flyover after juinagar. I did the Vashi-airoli-powai route for a few weeks in 2002; totally forgot about it! Now I must also consider visiting a friend in Thane
Isn't there one more route from Thane to Borivli? I think it's on Thane Ghodbunder road
Thanks for the info, it seems like you are a regular commuter though your location shows as Pune

Yes i am a regular. I am a Mumbaikar you see who has shifted to Pune only for work. Monthly 2 trips to Mumbai. In fact did one quick trip to Mumbai today.

Originally Posted by gostel

Hi Filcord,

The route is pretty straightforward: Vashi bridge, Deonar Circle, Diamond Garden junction, Chembur Naka, Suman Nagar junction, Sion Circle flyover, King's Circle (perhaps flyover open), Dadar circle flyover, Jaihind Flyover, Parel flyover, Lalbaug (keep left at junction) crawlunder the long flyover (hehe), Rani Baug, Byculla flyover, JJ Flyover, Flora Fountain, Museum (Regal Circle), YWCA / Madame Cama Road.

Have fun, drive safe.

I would also go with this route.

@filcord - To give you an idea i touched Vashi today at 8 AM and did not face any issues with traffic till Sumar Nagar junction (that was my end point). Considering you would be travelling on a Sunday it should be a breeze for you if you make it to Vashi at 7 AM.