Commuters travelling by road called it a horrible Wednesday as the traffic situation across the city – from major expressways to bridges and flyovers – was messy. Heavy rains added to the already existing bad roads and potholes caused bottlenecks, slow traffic movement and jams in many places across the city.
Commuters also reported the absence of traffic personnel in several areas including the Western Express Highway (WEH) and near the L&T Flyover. “The Airport Road (Santacruz) along the WEH was jam-packed with traffic, with vehicles piling up one after another. Traffic movement had come to a standstill and I ended up being stuck in my vehicle for almost 45 minutes while the trip from my home to work takes only 20 minutes. People were looking out for traffic personnel to manage the traffic but none was around,” said Rupali Shinde, a commuter based in Andheri.
Another commuter travelling from Goregaon to Andheri via WEH experienced the same situation. “Not sure why there was so much rush even during the non-peak hours (around 12:30 pm), but it looked like there was a huge pile-up of vehicles along the WEH. We were stuck for over 50 minutes in that traffic congestion,” she said.
The Haji Ali route and the Tardeo route experienced unusual traffic congestion as the traffic police had closed the Kemps Corner Bridge for vehicular movement for almost 40 minutes, due to technical issues. The traffic police tweeted, “Kemps Corner Bridge is closed for vehicular movement due to technical issues. Commuters can take the August Kranti Maidan-Haji Ali-Wilson College-Nana Chowk route.” The bridge was closed for inspection by BMC engineers, said the traffic authorities.
“We received a call that the mastic on the joints of the Kemps Corner Bridge fell off. So as a precautionary measure, our team inspected the bridge in the afternoon. It was a minor issue and will be rectified soon,” said a senior official from the BMC's bridges department.
Similarly, near the L&T Flyover, people reported pile-ups of vehicles that were stuck for hours. Commuters took to Twitter, tagging the Mumbai Traffic Police while seeking assistance. “Terrible jam below L&T Flyover at Saki Vihar Road, 100 meters from the Powai police chowki. The major reason is vehicles blocking the road when their route is not clear. Need someone to clear this mess immediately,” said a user. In the same context, another user said, “Traffic below L&T Flyover! Can we have cops here to manage traffic? It's a daily morning bottleneck.”
Responding to these, local traffic police in the Powai division said, “The traffic was mainly caused due to parked vehicles below the flyover; and there was a vehicle trying to enter in the wrong direction as well. The moment we were alerted, our personnel reached the spot and cleared the traffic.”
The Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, too, had major traffic congestion on Wednesday, almost all through the first half of the day. “It took me close to one and half hours to cross Powai towards Jogeshwari. The entire stretch was jammed because of big potholes, especially near the L&T building and the flyover,” another commuter tweeted.
The BMC said in a statement, "There was a disaster call from the traffic police stating that there is a crack in the Kemps Corner Flyover on Peddar Road and there appears to be a danger for traffic movement. The traffic police also closed the bridge for traffic for half an hour. Or officials, engineers and bridge auditors visited the site and ensured that there is no crack and the bridge is safe for vehicular movement. Thereafter, it was opened immediately for traffic.
