Traffic snarls on Mumbai-Pune Expressway after truck breaks down on road

The incident occurred at around 1am near the Amrutanjan Bridge on the Pune-bound carriageway when a truck shed iron plates onto the roadway while negotiating the uphill stretch

Traffic was severely affected on Wednesday at the Mumbai-Pune Expressway after iron plates fell off a loaded truck. The part of its load slipped onto the road near the Amrutanjan Bridge ghat section. The traffic queue extended up to 39km, leaving motorists stranded in slow moving traffic through the ghat section.

Officials said the stranded truck was removed and normal traffic movement was being restored. (HT photo)

The situation was further aggravated with a truck breaking down, thereby blocking the lane on the Pune-bound carriageway.

The incident occurred at around 1am near the Amrutanjan Bridge on the Pune-bound carriageway when a truck shed iron plates onto the roadway while negotiating the uphill stretch.

The fallen cargo blocked the third lane, forcing authorities to temporarily close it to traffic while the obstruction was cleared.

The lane closure resulted in heavy congestion as the Pune-bound carriageway witnesses a high volume

of trucks and other heavy vehicles during the early morning hours.

A traffic police official said the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was immediately alerted after the incident.

“Iron plates from the truck fell onto the third lane near the Amrutanjan Bridge on the Pune-bound carriageway. The plates were promptly shifted to the roadside, following which traffic was restored on two lanes and vehicles were allowed to move,” the official said.

However, the situation worsened when the same truck developed a mechanical fault and came to a halt in the first lane near the Amrutanjan Bridge on the Pune-bound side, further affecting traffic movement.

“The same truck later broke down in the first lane near the Amrutanjan Bridge. IRB was informed immediately, and recovery operations were undertaken to remove the stranded vehicle and restore normal traffic flow,” said Pushpalata Dighe, the deputy superintendent of police (DySP) for Highway Traffic (Highway Safety Patrol.

To reduce congestion, the Highway Police and IRB implemented traffic management measures, including regulating the movement of heavy vehicles through designated parking hours and taking temporary traffic blocks on the Mumbai-bound carriageway whenever required to facilitate recovery operations.

Officials said the stranded truck was removed and normal traffic movement was being restored.

“The congestion was primarily due to the high volume of heavy vehicles using the Pune-bound carriageway during the early morning hours. Normal traffic is expected to be restored by 11am,” said an officer.