Thane commuters relieved as they see less traffic on Thursday

Meanwhile, alternate traffic diversions will be planned on the routes that are found to have the most traffic congestion according to Thane city traffic police

Thane: After 15 days of facing continuous traffic jams and delays, Thane residents and commuters finally experienced congestion-free roads on Thursday morning. By restricting entry of heavy vehicles on the roads, the Traffic police managed to ease the traffic snarls.

Traffic jam on Mumbai Nashik bypass road due to potholes and bad condition of road on Saket Bridge and Kharegaon Bridge, in Thane. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

“We have spoken to the traffic department in Mira Bhayander and Navi Mumbai to not allow heavy vehicles into Thane city apart from the scheduled period. Moreover, we have made extra arrangements at all city entry points to ensure that heavy vehicles are parked on the side if they come during the non-scheduled period. We did a trial run of the same on Thursday morning. Many of the potholes have also been filled in the city with rain taking a breather. All of this helped smoothen the traffic flow on Thursday morning,” said Datta Kamble Traffic DCP Thane.

Commuters found the drive on Thane Nashik route and on the Eastern Express highway smoother on Thursday. “I was surprised to find a traffic-free road on Thursday morning with no long queue of vehicles. We could easily manage to cross the Majiwada Junction and reach Bhiwandi within 45 minutes after almost two weeks,” said Naresh Shetty, 37, resident of Thane.

Meanwhile, alternate traffic diversions will be planned on the routes that are found to have the most traffic congestion according to Thane city traffic police. “We are working on alternative traffic diversions that will help ease the traffic flow in case of further congestion. However, we need to find routes that are not too tiring as it will further impact the internal roads of Thane city. Amidst managing the traffic with support from traffic wardens we are also planning to prepare an alternate route map,” said an officer from the traffic department.