The Sion Bandra Link Road (SBLR) is an important arterial road , which connects Bandra and Sion .
Route[]
The SBLR begins from Western Express Highway in Bandra and paases through Mahim , Dharavi and Sion where it meets the L.B.S. Rd near Sion Station .
Motorists can approach the SBLR from Bandra by using the B.K.C. Rd or the Western Express Highway (from Kalanagar Flyover) . Motorists can approach the Sion end of SBLR by using the L.B.S. Rd , which is very close to the Eastern Express Highway .
Importance[]
The SBLR is an important route for long distance travellers for travelling from Western Suburbs to Thane , Kalyan , Lonavala , Pune , etc.
It is also a prefered route by taximen who ferry passengers from the airport to South Mumbai .
It is one of the few roads in Mumbai , which provide vital East - West connectivity .
Traffic Patterns[]
Being an important East-West arterial road , the SBLR experiences traffic snarls during the peek hours . Most of the motorists use this road to travel between Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway . The most congested areas along the route are Kalanagar and Sion Rly Station .
Kalanagar Traffic Problems[]
The Kalanagar junction , below the Kalanagar flyover on the Western Express Highway is a traffic nightmare . Two important roads , the SBLR and B.K.C. Rd , meet near this junction , creating a bottleneck .
Sion Traffic Problems []
The SBLR ends near Sion Rly Station on a very busy road . Several changes have been made to improve the traffic flow . But this junction is a bottleneck itself , making Sion the most traffic-struck area on the Eastern Express Highway .
Solution[]
There is a plan to build an elevated road , which connects B.K.C. to Sion and runs almost parallel to the SBLR . This would eventually reduce the need of SBLR . Once this plan sees the day of light , SBLR can cater to the local needs .
The Santacruz Chembur Link Road , which was opened in 2014 , has also reduced the traffic load significantly on this road .