E-Paper
Work in progress: Traffic at Uran Phata worsens
Since the public works department (PWD) blocked two lanes at the Uran Phata flyover for concretisation work recently, traffic has worsened on the stretch.
Since the public works department (PWD) blocked two lanes at the Uran Phata flyover for concretisation work recently, traffic has worsened on the stretch.
The road is chock-a-block with traffic during peak hours, with vehicles from Thane-Belapur road going towards Navi Mumbai using the stretch.
The vehicles usually congregate at the entry point of the flyover and it takes more than 30 minutes to clear the rush.
“We are aware of traffic issues and will try to complete the work soon. We have also requested authorities to deploy a traffic policeman on the stretch. We are repairing Thane-Belapur road and completing the work would take more than a month’s time. Motorists will have to bear traffic snarls,”said Kishore Patil, executive engineer, PWD.
Because of the concretisation work, serpentine queue of vehicles get extended till Kharghar. The situation worsens during weekends.
Sunil Lokhande, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) said, “As two lanes of the flyover have been blocked for concretisation work and only one lane is open, traffic congestion is bound to happen. Vehicles from Thane-Belapur road also enter the flyover, adding to the traffic.”
The pending works are also adding to commuters’ woes.
“I have been reaching office late every day as only one lane is open for traffic on Uran Phata. It takes more than 10 minutes to pass through the flyover. PWD could have blocked one lane only,” said Jitendra Dange, 47 a commuter who travels to Mankhurd every day.
PWD officials started the concretisation work of Sion-Panvel highway in October 2018. However, the work was left midway during monsoon. Navi Mumbai has approximately 19km of Sion-Panvel highway from Vashi toll plaza, passing through Sanpada, Nerul, Belapur, Juinagar, Kalamboli and Panvel.
Four kilometres of the highway will be concretised to ensure that commuters have a smoother ride. The Sion-Panvel highway is a busy stretch and an important junction for vehicles going towards Pune, Goa , via Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
