Mumbai: A major accident involving more than 15 vehicles was reported on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway in Maharashtra’s Palghar district during the early hours of Friday after a massive pothole on a flyover allegedly caused multiple tyre bursts within minutes, triggering chaos on the busy route.
Visuals from the spot showed multiple damaged vehicles stranded along the flyover, with traffic movement severely affected for some time following the incident. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported, though several vehicles sustained heavy damage.
Details Of The Incident
The incident occurred near the Mahalakshmi Temple in Dahanu taluka on the Gujarat-to-Mumbai carriageway. According to local reports, several vehicles travelling at high speed suffered sudden tyre bursts after hitting a deep pothole on the flyover, leading to a series of accidents and near-collisions within a span of barely 10 to 12 minutes.
Motorists reportedly alleged that the stretch had become extremely dangerous due to severe road damage, with iron reinforcement bars reportedly jutting out from the concrete surface. Drivers claimed that vehicles lost control immediately after tyres burst on impact with the pothole, causing panic among commuters travelling on the highway at night.
The incident has once again raised serious concerns over the condition and quality of infrastructure work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway despite massive spending on road development projects.
₹620 Cr Spent On Highway Repairs
According to a report by NDTV Profit, nearly Rs 620 crore was spent last year on the highway’s ‘white topping’ project, while separate contractors were assigned the work of construction and maintenance of flyovers and bridges along the route.
White topping is a road rehabilitation method in which a concrete layer is laid over an existing asphalt road to improve durability and increase road life. However, the onset of monsoon rains appears to have exposed major defects in the road surface, sparking criticism over the quality of construction and maintenance work.
Following the incident, commuters and local residents demanded a thorough investigation and accountability from the contractors and authorities responsible for maintaining the highway. Officials are yet to release a detailed statement regarding the accident and road condition.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
