Mumbai: The BMC will carry out road safety improvement works at 48 accident-prone locations across the city at a cost of about Rs 18 crore. The 48 black spots (high-risk intersections) were identified by the Mumbai Traffic Police. The proposed measures include thermoplastic road markings, installation of median dividers, traffic instruction and direction boards, two-way pavement markers, and construction of traffic islands. The civic administration has sought the standing committee’s approval to award the contract to a firm that has quoted a rate 36% below the official estimate, and the proposal will be placed before the Standing Committee on Wednesday.Meanwhile, Congress corporator Ashraf Azmi questioned the low bid, pointing out that either the estimates were high or the work would not be carried out to the required quality standards.According to the BMC, the rise in the number of vehicles has contributed to traffic congestion on major roads, junctions and flyovers, as well as at entry and exit points of the Coastal Road and other locations. It has also led to an increase in accidents.The issue of black spots, or high-risk intersections where accidents occur repeatedly, is regularly discussed at meetings of the District Road Safety Committee. These meetings are held every six months separately for Mumbai city and the suburbs under the chairmanship of the respective district collectors, in accordance with Supreme Court directions on road safety.The BMC received a list of 48 black spots in the city and suburbs from the office of the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic). The proposed works aim to identify potential hazards at these locations and recommend corrective measures to improve road safety. The civic body also plans to evaluate the effectiveness of measures implemented at these spots and prepare a summary of proposed short-term and long-term interventions.
