MUMBAI/ NAVI MUMBAI/PUNE: The promise of a long weekend getaway turned into a nightmare for Mumbai and Pune residents, many of whom spent several hours on the road stuck in traffic snarls. The traffic departments of the two cities as well as Navi Mumbai and Thane are putting plans in place to ensure that residents aren’t stuck on their way out, or on their way back home.
The Navi Mumbai traffic police have asked travellers to take a signal-free route that passes via Uran Phata to join the Mumbai-Pune Expressway — the route to Pune and Goa, as well as other popular weekend destinations like Alibag and Lonavla — instead of the Sion-Panvel highway, which connects Belapur to Kalamboli junction. Major repair work undertaken by the Public Works department on the bridge at Kamothe (at the roadpali junction flyover near Pursharth HP fuel pump) also slowed up traffic on Saturday.
“The ongoing repair work of the bridge at Kamothe as well as the sudden increase of vehicular movement owing to the extended holiday is causing major traffic congestion on the Sion-Panvel highway. We tweeted about the alternative route so that motorists planning for a trip via the expressway or through the old Panvel highway can avoid getting stuck. There are no potholes on the alternate route,” said DCP Traffic Navi Mumbai, Purushotam Karad.
“We have appointed additional manpower at the toll naka,” he added.
The alternative will help motorists beat the traffic by approximately 40 to 60 minutes. “In the alternative route suggested by the traffic department, motorists coming via the Sion-Panvel highway will have to take a left to Amra Marg, Nerul and then travel to NMMC headquarters, Belapur, proceed on Ulwe road to D-Point and take the exit to Kalamboli,” a senior traffic official from the Belapur unit explained.
A 10% increase of vehicular traffic was witnessed on Saturday, as city residents sought to drive out of town, Thane traffic officials said. Commuters faced at least 30-minute delays as traffic moved slowly on both the Mumbai Pune expressway as well as the Mumbai Nashik highway.
Motorists, stuck in traffic for hours on these roads on Saturday took to social media platform Twitter to seek help from the Navi Mumbai traffic police’s handle. “It took me almost two hours to travel from Airoli to Kalamboli which would usually take me 45 minutes. I can only imagine the plight of commuters heading out of town due to the bad roads and bridge repair,” said Airoli resident Anushka Parab.
Mumbai and Navi Mumbai residents stuck en-route to Lonavala and Goa shared live updates complaining about the serpentine queues at the Khalapur and Lonavla toll nakas. Some even decided to cancel their plans based on these traffic updates.
“We had earlier planned to go to Lonavala. However, after reading the updates shared by motorists stuck on the highway for hours and even at various toll booths, we cancelled the plan. It’s too chaotic,” said Snigdha Verma, a Nerul resident.
“The situation will prevail for the next three days, which is why we are appealing to motorists to consider taking the alternative route even if the route is slightly longer. It is better to be in moving traffic,” said a senior traffic police official.
The highway safety patrol (HSP) unit of the Maharashtra Police, which looks after traffic management issues on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway also has a plan in place in case the highway (both Mumbai and Pune-bound) is blocked by travellers leaving Lonavla and Khandala after their long weekend.
Traffic could be diverted at Somatane phata located on the Kiwale to Panvel stretch of the expressway in case of an emergency, HSP Pune incharge for the expressway, Sangeeta Phad, said.
“We have diversion plans ready and they are activated when there are heavy traffic jams. We co-ordinate with all the traffic units of the state, regular alerts are received and action is taken,” she said.
“We are coordinating on a regular basis with the traffic personnel of neighbouring cities in order to manage the exodus. There are certain parts of the road in Thane which are riddled with potholes, which lead to slow moving traffic. We reached out to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and ensured these potholes are fixed by Saturday afternoon. The potholes near Saket and Kharegaon have been filled. On Sunday, we will fill the potholes on the opposite side of road as vehicular movement on that end will increase by Monday,” said Datta Kamble, DCP, Traffic, Thane.
As the traffic towards Nashik increased, some of the vehicles going towards Taloja were diverted onto the Diva Agasen road.
(With inputs from Ankita Menon and Nadeem Inamdar)