After facing public outrage this monsoon for potholes on flyovers actually maintained by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had stepped in to fill them, despite not being responsible for their upkeep. The blame game between the two agencies even led BMC to put up a board at the start of the Vakola flyover declaring that MSRDC, not BMC, was the maintenance authority.
Large potholes on the Vakola flyover and the traffic congestion caused by them
Now, in a move aimed at preventing a repeat of the pothole chaos next monsoon, the BMC has decided to resurface multiple MSRDC-maintained flyovers across the city, after MSRDC communicated that the civic body may take up the work. A senior official from BMC’s roads and bridges department told mid-day on Friday, “MSRDC wrote to us regarding the matter. BMC has decided to resurface several flyovers in the city, including those maintained by MSRDC.”
Which flyovers are first?
In Phase 1, the BMC will take up resurfacing of at least four flyovers under MSRDC’s jurisdiction in the eastern and western suburbs:
1. Vakola Flyover – 1.4 km
2. Aarey Flyover -780 m
3. Sanjay Gandhi National Park Flyover – 800 m
4. Vikhroli Flyover – 1.2 km
“The tendering process is underway,” said the official. “These four MSRDC flyovers will be taken up first, and the remaining ones may be resurfaced in subsequent phases.”
Damaged stretches on the Vakola flyover trigger traffic snarls daily. Pic/Nimesh Dave
While potholes were patched during the monsoon to keep road surfaces usable, resurfacing is necessary for long-term stability. Continuous vehicular load erodes mastic asphalt patches and leads to uneven, bumpy rides. “For BMC-owned flyovers, the contractor handles repairs during the defect liability period, or BMC takes up the work. MSRDC has not undertaken resurfacing, and pothole issues may resurface. So we will be carrying out the work on MSRDC’s behalf,” the official added.
In August, another senior civic official had told mid-day, “The decision has been taken simply to ensure better roads in Mumbai. BMC has the resources and manpower to do this consistently, as we are the local implementing agency.”
What sparked controversy?
In August 2025, the BMC installed a board at the start of the Vakola flyover on the Western Express Highway stating, “Vakola bridge is in the possession of MSRDC and is being maintained by MSRDC.” The move came after multiple citizen complaints and social media posts highlighting potholes on the flyover.
Meanwhile, BMC’s pothole dashboard, which allows citizens to track complaint status, logged 1448 pothole complaints on roads and bridges belonging to other agencies out of a total of 19,548 complaints this year. These were marked as “complaints pertaining to other agencies.”
19,548
No of pothole-related complaints BMC received this year
