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Bumpy rides on Pune service roads along Bengaluru-Mumbai highway irk commuters
Managed and maintained by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the Mumbai – Bengaluru highway and its service road are under their purview, but over the years, the service roads have become the worst with a lot of traffic that it can withstand
The service roads along the Bengaluru-Mumbai highway starting from Baner till Katraj are causing inconvenience to residents and commuters as they are riddled with potholes and bottlenecks due to ongoing construction works. The bad shape of the service roads often causes delay for commuters and poses risk to their lives.
Incessant rains in the past few days have made the service roads similar to puddles without any idea of the depth, with deep potholes which have caused many accidents in the vicinity of Wakad, Baner, Balewadi and Warje along the Mumbai- Bangalore highway.
Managed and maintained by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the Mumbai – Bengaluru highway and its service road are under their purview, but over the years, the service roads have become the worst with a lot of traffic that it can withstand.
The service road near Mhalunge – Maan highway city is riddled with holes and the commuters are perplexed as they are unaware where the actual road ends. Anurag Dongre, a resident of Yashwin Society, off Baner Mhalunge road, said, “This is a dangerous patch on the service road which is difficult to gauge if it rains. I have met with an accident in one such pothole when I was on my two-wheeler. I was not able to judge the depth of the pothole. It is not just me but several people have fallen and hurt themselves at this spot.”
Dongre also added that the authorities have been repairing the road, by simply filling it with gravel which washes away if it rains. “This is not repairing but giving us an eyewash of an excuse of repairs,” he added.
The state of the road near Nyati Emporium in Balewadi is flooded with stinking drainage water seeping on to the road and adding to the puddle. Adding to the woes are the parked cars on the wrong side of the service road. While continuing along the Mhalunge -Wked road, next to hotel Holiday Inn, the service road has no proper connecting road to the highway and commuters navigate through a treacherous slippery muddy road.
Shahnawaz Memon who comes to work at a furniture store from Kondhwa said, “I am aware that daily I am risking my life when I turn on to the highway from this service road for, either my vehicle can slip or if I ride fast it can collide with oncoming vehicle, but since there is no other option, I have to use this road.”
The Wakad stretch of the service road is in a bad state near the Hinjewadi flyover and in parts worst near Indira College, where the road has been swallowed by a pothole which resembles a mini pool.
For Sutapa Das, who lives in Wakad and travels daily towards Sheraton, it is a painful one hour of drive. “If traffic was not enough, the past rains have created a mess with the roads for one cannot judge when you might just hit the pothole that is filled with water. Recently, the tyre of my vehicle burst because of hitting the edge of the pothole, but I managed to drive through.”
Suhas Chitnis, NHAI project director, said, “Our priority is to restore the main carriage highway which has been severely affected by the incessant rains while service roads have restricted use. Unfortunately, the rains have made the repair works worst and we have to redo the maintenance work twice over as bitumen and water don’t work together, the repairs are washed out. But once we have carried all the repair works on the main highway, it is on the cards to deal with the problems of the service road.”
NHAI has 17 km long of highway and service road along with it, but only up to Navale Bridge in Narhe. The NHAI has given the repair work to its concessioner Reliance who have been given the orders to maintain the highway.
Elsewhere at Wadgaon near Navale bridge, the highway has two flyovers though both of them clogs during the evening as commuters numbers have increased. The clogged road coupled with a bottleneck at the start of stretch near Sinhgad road leads to massive traffic jam every evening.
Problem areas
- The service road stretch from Rahatne to Navale Bridge is 17 km long approximately
- Most affected areas where there is maximum traffic are where residential development is in full swing at Baner, Balewadi, Mhalunge and Wakad.
- Service road in Pashan has a good road but, it does not connect to the highway again, it is a dead-end and only takes you back into Sutarwadi
- Service road in Bavdhan has too many parallel openings and only two openings to cross over to the other side of the highway
- Bavdhan also has the longest stretch of the service road
- Warje service road has too many hotels, residential units close to the road and difficult to maintain with the constant flow of traffic
-Vadgaon Budruk - Bottlenecks leads to traffic jam. No traffic management beneath the flyover also leads to chaos every evening.
-Katraj: Often crowded and is awaiting flyover. The stretch from Ambegaon till Katraj currently is four-lane and is inadequate for traffic. The service road here has vehicles parked, leading to a narrow carriageway
No development in widening of Katraj-Dehu bypass
To ease traffic congestion in the city, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had approved ₹96.77 crore for the widening of the Katraj-Dehu bypass, from Katraj square to Vadgaon. However a year after, nothing has moved on the ground. As part of the plan, the NHAI will construct a six-lane road starting Vadgaon till Katraj. The NHAI has also approved ₹126.69 crore to construct a flyover at the busy Katraj square.
