In spite of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's directions, commuters on Mumbai-Nashik highway continue to face issues on the stretch between Thane city and Kharegaon bridge because of traffic congestion.
Commuters who navigated through the stretch within 15-20 minutes remain stranded for hours because of the traffic.
The Thane Municipal Corporation has undertaken work and the current traffic is fouced on existing bridge creating a bottleneck and slowing down of traffic. The problems are exacerbated because the bridge is in a poor condition and full of potholes.
The stretch on the highway, during every monsoon, remains pothole-riddled slowing down traffic movement.
Reports quoted commuters and residents of Kalwa, Kharegaon areas about the inconvinience caused by the traffic on the bridge.
A Hindustan Times report quoted a resident of Kharegaon saying that they take 45 minutes to cross the bridge now as opposed to earlier.
Another commuter expressed concern over the backlog of traffic due to presence of heavy vehicles; they added that the traffic continues until later in evening making traffic worse.
The report in Indian Express quoted officials saying that the traffic slows down because of the bad shape of the stretch. They added that incessant rains wash away the coal tar used to close the potholes.
