Amidst the festive season coupled with long weekend, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway encountered its typical challenges of traffic congestion on Saturday.
As the holiday season reached its peak, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which connects major cities and serves as a gateway to popular destinations like Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani, experienced a surge in traffic congestion. Travelers expressed frustration over extended travel times and frequent traffic jams, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the expressway.
The long Holi weekend, starting on Saturday, witnessed significant traffic movement on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, with an additional one-and-a-half hours being added to the usual four-hour journey between the cities. The heavy traffic is expected to continue on Sunday and Monday, as people return to Mumbai from Pune and nearby travel destinations.
Similar situations were observed in December during a long weekend, leading to the breakdown of several vehicles.
Meanwhile, the heavy vehicle ban in Pune has come into force from March 23.
With the rising number of vehicles in Pune and stagnant road infrastructure, traffic congestion has become a significant concern. The situation is compounded by ongoing large-scale projects that occupy road space. To tackle these issues and prioritise public safety and convenience, Rohidas Pawar, Deputy Commissioner of Police Traffic Branch, Pune City, has introduced new traffic regulations.
He announced a ban on the entry of heavy goods vehicles on 11 important roads in the city during peak hours. The move comes after a blanket ban on very heavy vehicles such as trailers, containers and articulated vehicles at 12 important entry points to the city to do away with the problem of massive traffic jams witnessed on arterial roads and key junctions in the city.
An order issued on Wednesday by Rohidas Pawar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic), states that between 9am and 12 noon and from 4pm to 9 pm, heavy goods vehicles, except those of public transport and those involved in essential services, will be banned on 11 roads. These include Laxmi Road, Shivaji Road, Bajirao Road, Kelkar Road,
1. Laxmi Road: Sant Kabir Chowk to Tilak Chowk
2. Shivaji Road: SG Barve Chowk to Jedhe Chowk
3. Bajirao Road: Puram Chowk to Gadgil Putla Chowk
4. Kelkar Road: Tilak Chowk to Appa Balwant Chowk
5. Kumthkar Road: Tilak Chowk to Shanipar Chowk
6. Tilak Road: Tilak Chowk to Jedhe Chowk
7. Jangali Maharaj Road: SG Barwe Chowk to Khandojibaba Chowk
8. Fergusson College Road: Khandojibaba Chowk to Veer Chafekar Chowk
9. Karve Road: Khandojibaba Chowk to Paud Phata
10. Mahatma Gandhi Road: Pandol Apartment Chowk to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Statue Chowk
11. North Main Road, Koregaon Park: Koregaon Park Junction to Tadigutta Chowk
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