| Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg | |
|---|---|
 Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg marked in Red on Mumbai area map | |
 Entrance toThane along LBS Marg | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained byBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Thane Municipal Corporation | |
| Length | 21 km (13 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Thane |
| Major intersections | Marathon Chowk (Teen Haath Naka) in Thane,JVLR in Gandhi Nagar,Vikhroli Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road inGhatkopar SCLR inKurla BKC Road in Kurla |
| South end | Sion, Mumbai |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| States | Maharashtra |
| Districts | Thane,Mumbai Suburban, Mumbai City |
| Major cities | Thane,Mumbai |
| Highway system | |
Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, commonly known by its abbreviationLBS Marg,[1] is a 21 km long, major arterial road connecting the neighbouring city ofThane withSion inMumbai.[2] It passes through the heavily populated areas of the Eastern Suburbs in Mumbai and is heavily congested. Approximately, 3 lakh vehicles, use this road daily.[3] The road is named afterLal Bahadur Shastri, thesecondPrime Minister ofIndia.
LBS Marg begins at Thane, extending from theOld Agra Road and theGhodbunder Road.[4] It intersects theEastern Express Highway (EEH) at Marathon Chowk. When travelling between Mumbai and Thane, commuters have to pay a toll. The toll gate (called thenaaka inMarathi) is calledTeen Hath Naaka. LBS Marg then passes through all the eastern suburbs, fromMulund till Sion, where it joins with the EEH near the Sion Flyover. Both LBS Marg and the EEH pass through Thane and the Eastern Suburbs, but they pass to the west and east of theCentral Line respectively. LBS Marg has only 4 lanes. However, only 2 lanes are in use now due to ongoing metro work. It passes through residential and commercial areas, making it more congested andencroached upon. On the other hand, EEH is wide, well-maintained, and smooth. It goes through an uninhabited area, where development is prohibited.
LBS Marg also offers connectivity to the Western Suburbs when it intersects the Andheri – Ghatkopar Link Road and theJVLR. The road also intersects the BKC Road atKurla, providing connectivity to theBandra Kurla Complex, and onward toBandra. It also offers connectivity to the Harbour Suburbs when it intersects theGhatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road (GMLR).
LBS Marg is connected to Kalina from Kurla via a 6m bridge over theMithi River.[5]
The Mumbai Metro Line 4, which will pass through LBS, is under construction.
TheBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has had plans to widen LBS Marg since 1970.[6] The BMC decided to revitalize and finance the project in 2012. The work will require the demolition of 2,000 buildings, 80 per cent of which are commercial properties. The BMC estimates the cost of acquiring properties for demolition to be₹300 crore (US$35 million). The plan was to widen LBS Marg to 6 lanes (a width of 120 feet) from 4 lanes (60–80 feet in width).[3] However, with the metro construction work going on from the stretch from Thane to Ghatkopar, the width of the road has actually reduced in places to just 12 feet on either side.
The LBS Road is known for heavy encroachment and almost nil enforcement of traffic and civic rules or town planning guidelines. It is common to see vehicles encroaching footpaths, wrong-side driving by all types of vehicles including heavy goods vehicles and jaywalking in the absence of pedestrian crossings.[7] The ongoing Metro construction work on the central median has resulted in the road width reducing to just 12 feet in certain pockets, with no footpaths for pedestrian movement. As a result, the vehicular speeds on the road have fallen to an average of 3 km/h (1.8 mph) during peak hours.[8]In addition, the road has the highest number of flood-prone spots in the Eastern suburbs, with yearly flooding a common phenomenon.[9]
Conversion from primarily an industrial region to a mixed-use area began in the 2000s.[10]
LBS Marg has several malls, apartment complexes and corporate offices along it. Some of Mumbai's most prominent malls –R-Mall (Mulund), Neptune Magnet Mall (Bhandup),R City Mall (Ghatkopar) andPhoenix Marketcity (Kurla) – are located on LBS Marg. Godrej and Boyce IT Park, located inVikhroli, houses the offices of several IT firms. Corporates likeAccenture,Capgemini,TCS,Wipro, WNS Spectramind,ICICI Prudential,HCC,Colgate-Palmolive andCipla have offices on LBS Marg. Runwal Forests in Kanjurgmarg, Godrej Park Site and Raj Legacy in Vikhroli, Kalpataru Aura and The Address in Ghatkopar, and HDIL's Dreams and Whispering Towers in Bhandup are some notable residential complexes on LBS Marg.
Some manufacturing facilities continue to exist on or near LBS Road, notably Johnson & Johnson (Mulund), Ceat Tyres, Asian Paints and ShangriLa Biscuits (Bhandup), Jai Hind Oil Mills (Kanjurmarg), Everest Spices and Godrej Industries (Vikhroli).
