What Mumbaikars gained in air quality after the unseasonal but welcome rain that lashed the city early on Tuesday morning, they were forced to squander once they set off on their work commute, as many roads were flooded. There was a traffic situation that developed after the cooling showers, similar to those witnessed in the monsoon. Motorists were left fuming like their vehicles, despite the pleasant temperatures.
The city’s two prominent connectors – the Western and Eastern Express Highways (WEH & EEH) – were heavily impacted by the rain, slowing down the traffic in the morning rush hour.
Oil spill leads to accident on Vakola flyover
At the WEH, the trouble started from Vakola flyover in Santacruz around 8am, where a tempo carrying oil had rammed into the divider, resulting in an oil spill. The sudden braking by the tempo caused a chain of collisions, involving the tempo and the four or five vehicles behind it. To prevent other vehicles from driving into the slick, the traffic authorities and fire brigade rushed to the spot for a clean-up.
The tempo and the other vehicles caught in the mess had to be towed away. Four people suffered minor injuries in the mishap, while the condition of one was said to be serious.
“By the time the mess was cleared, there was a traffic backlog on the southbound side; however, things slowly returned to normal later,” said a traffic police officer. However, according to motorists who were on the spot at that time, the entire process took more than an hour, and even after the vehicles had been towed and the oil cleared, normalcy was not restored.
“The expected time was 1 hour, 41 minutes, from Goregaon to Bandra via Vile Parle at WEH. Just one shower, that too a very moderate one and our prominent route went for a toss! Have we learnt nothing over the years – about monsoon, Mumbai roads and traffic?” asked Goregaon resident Jeetu Singh.
A disgruntled Twitter user wrote: “Western Depress Highway on a Tuesday morning. Great start to the day. Chembur to Goregaon takes 1 hour, and 50 minutes, I wonder what will happen during monsoon.”
Borivli to Andheri jam on WEH
The WEH traffic snarl stretched from Borivli to Andheri, with vehicles moving at a snail’s pace and it was afternoon by the time a semblance of normalcy returned.
Kanjurmarg-Vikhroli stretch hit on EEH
On the EEH, traffic on the Kanjurmarg-Vikhroli stretch was hit – already because of the metro construction work and then the lashing rains. “The traffic slowed down due to rains as vehicles tend to slow down a little bit, plus the construction work has made the roads a bit narrower. Once the work is finished, these problems won’t occur,” said an official.
However, the slowdown of traffic at Kanjurmarg affects traffic across Powai and spills over to the WEH. Further, the traffic jam at Vikhroli resulted in a mess on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road.
