Traffic jam on Mumbai’s Sion-Panvel highway: 3-km snarl near CBD Belapur today

Busy road sees congestion because of potholes and road repairs, though the situation is slightly better than it was on Monday.

The Sion-Panvel highway saw a major traffic jam once again on Tuesday, this time stretching for three kilometres between Kharghar and CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, thanks to a combination of potholes and road repair work, which is underway.

The MSRDC is repairing the road near the flyover at CBD Belapur, which has blocked traffic on the Mumbai-bound side of the road. (Bachchan Kumar)

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is repairing the road near the flyover at CBD Belapur, which blocked traffic on the Mumbai-bound side of the busy road, one of the entry points to Mumbai.

So far, the situation is slightly better than on Monday, when the jam extended to around seven km on both sides of the highway.

“There are traffic jams on a stretch of around three km, from Kharghar railway station to the CBD flyover. The potholes and the MSRDC’s repair work are responsible for it,” said Pravin Pandey, assistant police inspector from the Kharghar traffic unit.

An alternative is for motorists to take the internal road between Belpada village and CBD Belapur. However, this road was also congested on Tuesday.

Pandey said the situation is relatively okay near Kopra bridge in Kharghar. “On Monday, that area saw severe traffic jam because of road repairs being conducted by the public works department. However, they filled up the potholes there, so traffic has been moving smoothly along that stretch,” he added.