Mumbai: Traffic woes continue as rains flood roads yet again

Traffic woes continued on Friday as heavy rains lashed the city, leading to waterlogging in several areas. On Friday morning the Mumbai Traffic Police, through their Twitter handle, announced that the Andheri Subway will be closed for a while and traffic has been diverted during this period as water collected in the area was more than 1.5 feet deep.

Similarly, the Andheri market too was closed due to waterlogging. “Traffic in the Andheri market area was closed due to accumulated water which was 1 foot deep,” said the traffic authorities.

Commuters who travelled through these were stuck for hours due to traffic congestion. “If one route is closed, the load on the diversion route increases drastically. I travelled within Andheri (west) and it took me nearly an hour,” said a commuter. Another one added, “It took me two hours to travel through Andheri (east) via the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road. What a day! Rain and Mumbai roads really can't go together.”

Major traffic congestion was also reported on the Western Express Highway (WEH) that stretches across the western suburbs. Talking to local traffic personnel, it was known that the traffic breakdowns were occurring due to illegal parking at curve-point roads and bad road conditions, especially below the flyovers and bridges, and on narrow roads. Commuters travelling via the WEH reported being stuck in traffic for prolonged hours.

A similar situation occurred on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH). At Goregaon, due to heavy waterlogging, roads were flooded and people were stuck for at least an hour in traffic jams.

Since such heavy rains are expected for more than a couple of days in the city, traffic personnel are recommending that commuters check Twitter to understand their route's situation before venturing out. “We post in real-time about the traffic movement and the current status of roads on Twitter. Commuters will have a comparatively easy time if they check before deciding which route to take,” said an officer in the traffic division.