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Commuters on Kalyan-Shilphata stretch see red as traffic worsens
Every evening, there is a flood of complaints on the social media from commuters travelling on Kalyan-Shilphata road.
Every evening, there is a flood of complaints on the social media from commuters travelling on Kalyan-Shilphata road.
They are either stuck on the stretch for hours or traffic is crawling or they have just moved a few metres in 20 minutes.
With no option left while waiting for the traffic to move, commuters take to the social media to complain about the traffic mess on the busy Kalyan-Shilphata road.
“In the past six months, I have seen ambulance being stranded on the stretch many times. It is frustrating as I cannot help. The congestion is so bad that travel has turned into a nightmare,” said Satish Aher, 38, who travels on Shilphata road from Kalyan to reach his workplace in Mahape.
“The only option commuters have is to post pictures of the congestion online and force the authorities to come up with a solution,” he added.
A travel time of 30-45 minutes from Kalyan to Shilphata now takes more than two hours due to congestion.
“I work in Navi Mumbai and I take this stretch daily. Traffic is worst on Saturdays. Once it took me two hours to cross the Shilphata stretch. Vehicles hardly move. People shout at each other and keep honking. I see traffic cops around but nothing helps,” said Anil Udasi, 38, who drives to Navi Mumbai every day.
The Thane traffic police cited two major reasons for the increase in congestion on the stretch — the increasing number of vehicles and pothole-filled roads.
Commuters not following traffic discipline and lack of flyovers or subways add to the congestion.
“At some patches, the road has huge potholes. This leads to slowing of vehicles and causes congestion. The increase in the volume of vehicles plying on the stretch has added to congestion,” said Amit Kale, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, Thane.
The stretch has potholes at Daudi naka, Sonarpada, Katai naka to Badlapur road, Premiere colony, Palava junction, Desai naka and Shilphata.
He said, “Due to many housing complexes coming up on the stretch, the number of two-wheelers and cars plying on the route has increased.”
The traffic movement on the Shilphata stretch was badly affected after the old Patripool bridge in Kalyan shut for vehicles. “There was congestion earlier too but after Patripool bridge shut, it has worsened,” said Kale.
The 104-year-old Patripool bridge shut in August 2018.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to build a new two-lane bridge.
Vehicles ply on the parallel two-lane bridge (known as the new Patripool bridge) which too congested.
“Since there is an increase in traffic on this road, the road will be made into six-lanes,” said Tushar Ahire, public relations officer, MSRDC.
Aniruddha Borde, junior engineer, MSRDC, said, “The concretisation work at major chowks is underway. Work had slowed down because of monsoon. We are regularly filling potholes but the repaired patches have been damaged because of vehicle movement and rain.”
