Potholes that cropped up due to heavy rains at the Sion-Panvel highway in Nerul and Belapur stretches created heavy traffic snarl on Tuesday as there was a queue more than half a kilometer long on the highway. Traffic going toward Mumbai from Panvel or Kharghar has been diverted to the Palm Beach road instead of the highway.
Both police and motorists faced a harrowing time owing to the pothole-ridden road. The Belapur unit of Traffic Police said motorists have been alerted to avoid the stretch on which huge craters had developed near Uran Phata along the Sion-Panvel highway.
Huge craters on roads
The majority of motorists who use the Sion-Panvel highway say that the flyover in Uran Fata is dangerous due to the large number of potholes. Every year, after a couple of rains, potholes come up on the road. The work of repairing the Sion-Panvel highway was taken up by the Public Works Department (PWD) around four years ago. However, there are many stretches where the work has not been completed. At the beginning of the year, they repaired the flyover at LP Junction in Nerul.
Sharada Shah, a lawyer who was going to Mumbai for some work from Belapur struck in the traffic. She said that it took around half an hour to reach Nerul from Belapur which is hardly five minutes away.
PWD works on these potholes
Recently, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) illuminated the stretch from Vashi Toll plaza to Belapur after PWD transferred the maintenance of street lights to the corporation. An official from PWD said that most of the stretch of the highway in Navi Mumbai has been repaired and they are attending if potholes are cropping up.
Meanwhile, traffic moved at a snail's pace between the Bank of India signal to the Hiranandani signal in Kharghar, as the Panvel Municipal Corporation was filling potholes. The traffic department suggested motorists traveling toward Mumbai from Kharghar should use an alternate route via Utsav Chowk, Belpada, and Belapur.
Meanwhile, Panchnand Nagar Rahiwasi Sanstha has written to the managing director of CIDCO regarding the substandard road works in Taloja Phases one and two. They alleged that the road, which was repaired around two months after their repeated demand, has started developing potholes. They raised the concern about quality work and demanded an inquiry.
