After the disastrous fall of the height barricade near the King’s Circle Bridge in the Sion-Matunga Circle area, the Matunga Traffic Police have asked the Central Railways to construct and place a new one with blinker lights and reflectors for better visibility for the drivers. Furthermore, instead of height barricades being placed near the bridge, they had requested to construct at the entrance of the connecting flyover in both north and southbound.
According to police inspector Haridas Killedar of Matunga Traffic Division, they had submitted a letter to the railway authorities requesting them to construct height barricades in order to resolve this entire matter before a severe disaster takes place on the said bridge.
"We have marked speed bumpers and submitted it to them. Subsequently, the location for height barricades and the things that barricades will have in order to make it visible for the drivers while on the move. Once they get a NOC, the work will commence. The engineer who had visited the spot Thursday night has said that they will begin the work soon by next week or so," said Killedar to this newspaper.
In the accident that occurred Thursday, one section of the barricade collapsed after a trailer vehicle was riding at high speed. Fortunately, there were no vehicles or commuters present in the area where the section fell.
"We heard a huge thrashing sound and rushed to the spot (which is right outside Matunga and Sion Police station) and saw the barricade falling down. However, there were no casualties or injuries and no vehicles were
damaged. The driver of the vehicle got scared and stopped a little further from where we took him to the station for questioning," said another police officer at Matunga police station.
The driver and the vehicle were from Karnataka, and allegedly did not notice the height barricade nor did he know about the height restrictions under the bridge. Similar cases like these have been lodged under both Sion and Matunga police stations over the years.
If things go as planned, the new barricades that will be installed by the railways will be now placed at the entrance of the flyovers – on both sides. "This way, the vehicle, if not suitable to pass through the King’s Circle bridge, will be diverted at the entry level itself. This way, the bridge will be safe for sure, traffic congestion, human life – all can be managed at once," added Killedar. He also added that the barricade will have 'warning' sign boards in order for the driver to notice it clearly before entering the zone.
Talking about it from the railways' side, a senior railway official said, "Concerned officials and workers are ready with necessary materials. They are waiting for a 'traffic block' on the road, once they get the block, repair work of the damaged barrier will be completed." The traffic authorities added saying, "We will manage the traffic and by manage, we will be diverting the traffic during work hours to other sections/routes."
About the proposed height gauge barrier, the railway official added, "The process of erecting one more height gauge barrier near the Sion Hospital flyover is on, and will be complete by the first week of this month or the first week of the coming month."
