Disciplined traffic can unclog Kalyan-Shilphata, say experts

Traffic on the congested Kalyan-Shilphata stretch will worsen during the festival season.

Traffic on the congested Kalyan-Shilphata stretch will worsen during the festival season.

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With commuters complaining about their ordeal every day, experts and activists said there is a need for short-term measures to deal with the increasing congestion.

It will take years for the big projects to be completed.

They said the immediate steps would be to manage traffic by installing signals, make roads pothole-free and penalise traffic violators to control the congestion on the 21-km-long stretch.

The road connects to Bhiwandi, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Badlapur, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Dombivli.

“Even after Patripool bridge was shut and dismantled, there was no provision to divert heavy vehicles. Instead of using Kalyan-Shilphata stretch, heavy vehicles should use Mumbra bypass. The traffic police should have planned this before shutting the bridge,” said Sreeniwas Ghanekar, founder of Alert Citizen Forum, Kalyan.

Ghanekar has been following up with the authorities on the Kalyan-Shilphata road widening project.

“When the Versova bridge in Mumbai developed cracks in 2013, vehicles were diverted with proper planning. When the vital Patripool bridge was dismantled, there are no changes in traffic movement although there is massive congestion every day. This shows the lack of will power of the elected representatives to get things done from the authorities,” said Ghanekar.

The population of the area is increasing rapidly, so are the vehicles. For most commuters, there is no alternative route but Kalyan-Shilphata road.

Daily commuters want an immediate solution to the nightmare they face.

“No measures have been taken to decongest the stretch,” said Rahul Saxena, 39, who drives from Dombivli to Mahape for work daily.

“There are many things the traffic department can do and one of them is to penalise offenders. Motorists take the wrong side and end up causing more congestion. Police should take strict action against those violating traffic norms,” he added.

A travel time of 30-45 minutes from Kalyan to Shilphata now takes more than two hours due to congestion.

Apart from bringing in traffic discipline, the situation can be brought into control by making sure the roads are in good condition.

“Potholes should be repaired regularly. There are two toll plazas on the route and still the road is filled with potholes. The authorities should ensure potholes are repaired on time as this will help in a smooth movement of traffic,” said Ghanekar.

The stretch has potholes at Daudi naka, Sonarpada, Katai naka to Badlapur road, Premiere colony, Palava junction, Desai naka and Shilphata.

Pratap Pawar, 53, a retired town planner of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), said the closure of Patripool bridge should have been planned.

“The authorities should have anticipated the congestion and chalked out a plan. They just shut the bridge and dismantled it without thinking about the consequences,” said Pawar.

“The new Patripool bridge was built in 2000. They should have built a wider bridge considering the increasing traffic,” he added.

After the old Patripool bridge was shut, all vehicles ply on the new Patripool bridge which is narrow.

He said, “The new Patripool bridge cannot handle two-way traffic flow. It should have been built as a four-lane bridge, which would have handled the increased number of vehicles. ”

Regular commuters started an online campaign and the signed petitions will be sent to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Commuters can search for ‘Traffic at Kalyan Shilphata road . Need a bridge’ and sign. A total of 9,350 people have signed it. Another petition, ‘Terrible traffic handling at Shilphata Kalyan road and Palava’, has 3,824 signatures.

“Heavy vehicles cause congestion during peak hours as they are lined up for hours on the stretch. If they are given specific timings to enter city, it will ease traffic to some extent,” said Vishwanath Biwalkar, of Eagle Brigade foundation, which works with traffic police to ease congestion in Dombivli.

He said, “It is important that commuters follow traffic rules. Hefty fines should be imposed on violators and parking lots built at different spots on the stretch.”

After completion of the six-lane road-widening project, commuters will get relief.

“The bridges built in the past few years should have had six lanes. Durgadi bridge also falls on this stretch and the authorities are building a six-lane bridge. A bridge which was built in 2002 has two lanes. They should have built a six-lane bridge earlier. This is the third bridge they are building,” said Pawar.