Peak hour traffic pile-up at Western Express Highway

Morning peak hour traffic was disrupted on the Western Express Highway on Tuesday after a loaded cement mixer broke down on the Vakola flyover.

Morning peak hour traffic was disrupted on the Western Express Highway on Tuesday after a loaded cement mixer broke down on the Vakola flyover.

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Motorists between Kandivli and Bandra were the worst hit, and the traffic pile-up extended to Kandivli in the north and Mahim in the south. The highway was choked for at least four hours in the morning till the mixer was removed. Traffic returned to normal at 12.30pm, said the traffic police.

“I left my home in Goregaon at around 10am to drive to my workplace in Dadar. But I reached office only by 12.30pm. The highway was completely blocked,” said Arun Agarwal, a 50-year-old businessman.

According to the Vakola traffic police, a mixer loaded with sand broke down on the southbound stretch about 200 metres up the Vakola flyover at around 7.30am on

Tuesday. Cranes were called in to move the mixer, but to no avail. The driver had fled the spot and the police had no choice but to break open the mixer and unload it so that the cranes could then lift it.

“The old, rusted booster of the mixer had to be broken open, the sand had to be unloaded and then the mixer was removed. It took at least four hours to remove the mixer from the spot amidst the peak hour traffic,” said P Temkar, senior inspector, Vakola traffic police.

The police said that they are checking the nature of the mechanical failure of the vehicle. Its driver has been booked under Section 102 of the Bombay Police Act for causing obstruction on a street.