Mumbai, Jan. 28 -- Just when the memory of Andheri's Gokhale bridge misalignment had begun to fade, another flyover has grabbed attention for the wrong reasons. One of the four double-decker flyovers being built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in Mira-Bhayandar has sparked criticism even before its inauguration, after visuals shared on social media showed four traffic lanes abruptly narrowing to two. While social media users called it a planning and design blunder, MMRDA was swift to deny the claims, saying the design was based on "available road width constraints and future network planning". Photos and videos of the nearly completed, 1,100-metre-long flyover in the Golden Nest area of Mira-Bhayandar began circulating widely on social media from Monday. The visuals show a four-lane carriageway suddenly narrowing into two lanes at the Bhayandar end. Advocate Krishna Gupta, an activist from Mumbai, said that the newly built double-decker flyover is part of the Mumbai Metro 9 project, with the metro corridor passing above the flyover. "Built by MMRDA through J Kumar Infraprojects, the flyover is expected to be inaugurated in February, but locals and commuters are already questioning the planning behind the abrupt lane reduction. Many fear it could lead to traffic bottlenecks and safety issues instead of easing congestion," said Gupta. As the visuals went viral, MMRDA issued a detailed clarification on Tuesday. "The transition from four lanes to two lanes is not a design flaw, but is based on available road width constraints and future network planning," it said. "As per planning, the flyover has been designed with two lanes for Bhayandar East and future connecting two lanes for Bhayander West. Since the Bhayandar East arm comes first along the alignment, the four-lane configuration presently transitions into two lanes. The remaining two lanes on the outer side are planned as part of the future extension towards Bhayandar West across the Western Railway line [where a level-crossing once existed]," the clarification added. Five major roads converge at the Golden Nest Circle. To bypass this traffic-heavy intersection, a four-lane flyover was integrated with the Metro 9 corridor, along with slip roads on both sides to help disperse traffic effectively. Beyond the junction, however, the road narrows down. Officials said any future east-west link would likely involve the rehabilitation of some structures. "This design enables smooth crossing of one of the busiest junctions in the Mira-Bhayander region while accommodating on-ground constraints," the MMRDA clarification read. The authority added that a 970-metre extension of the flyover has been planned to cross the railway tracks as part of a future east-west link. "The [extension] proposal is currently at the planning stage and will be taken up in coordination with Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, after obtaining approvals from the competent authorities," it said. Infrastructure expert Sharad Sabnis said projects are often executed in phases due to land acquisition and rehabilitation constraints. "Somewhere, land would be unavailable due to rehabilitation-related issues, which is why it has been built in stages. Getting the bridge done partially is not wrong. It's about either partial usage of the facility or not providing any relief at all," Sabnis said. The controversy revived memories of Andheri's Gokhale bridge episode in early 2024, where two structures were found misaligned, leaving a six-foot gap....