On Mumbai-Nashik highway, potholed bridges choke traffic between Kharegaon & Thane

While authorities have blamed the potholes that have cropped up on this section for the commuting woes, questions are being raised on why the state government has not been able to address the traffic problem which crops up every monsoon on this particular stretch which is the gateway for many vehicles that enter Mumbai from north Maharashtra and northern India.

The major reason for the heavy traffic is the small width of the road on Saket bridge followed by the Kharegaon bridge on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, which falls on the 3-km stretch between Majiwada circle in Thane city and Thane creek near Mumbra toll naka.

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The entire traffic coming from Mumbai, Thane city and an additional traffic flow from the Ghodbunder road from Vasai-end reaches the Majiwada circle in Thane and those wanting to travel towards Nashik take the Mumbai-Nashik highway, resulting in huge traffic from over six lanes reaching the highway. Further, many vehicles coming from JNPT, from Navi Mumbai end, also reach the highway just before the Mumbra toll naka.

However, the Saket bridge and the Kharegaon bridge on the highway, have only two lanes each on both sides for vehicular movement which creates a bottleneck at both these bridges. Also, there is no service road here. Adding to these problems, both the bridges are riddled with potholes due to heavy rainfall since July 3.

As vehicles slow down at Kharegaon bridge (above Thane creek), a backlog is created till the Saket bridge and as vehicles slow down further at the Saket bridge, the backlog extends to the Majiwada circle and beyond when it rains heavily. While four-wheelers get stuck, bikers are often seen driving on the footpath, built on the divider, to avoid getting stuck in traffic.

Commuters have been forced to spend over 2 hours on the stretch that otherwise took them 15-20 minutes to navigate. Deepak Joshi

Issues faced by Traffic police

Requesting anonymity, a traffic police personnel posted at the Majiwada circle said, “There is no traffic issue at Majiwada circle but due to the rainfall since July 3, the traffic situation here has become chaotic. It’s majorly because of the potholes at Saket bridge and Kharegaon bridge. The Saket bridge is in our jurisdiction and we along with MSRDC workers must have filled the same potholes over 100 times since the monsoon arrived. The repair work should have been done before the monsoon. We put dambar (coal tar) but it gets washed away in the rain every time.”

Another officer at the Mumbra toll naka said, “We are on duty for over 12 hours of and have to ensure that the traffic keeps moving. We have filled the potholes as well. We even got blisters on our legs from standing in the rain for hours.”

Issues faced by the public

The prevailing traffic situation has also affected the livelihood of local rickshaw drivers in Thane. Yasin Memon, a share rickshaw driver since 2002, said, “Before monsoon, it took me about 10 to 15 minutes to reach Mumbra from Majiwada circle and now it takes an hour. I used to make Rs 600 from early morning till afternoon. Now, I make about Rs 200. We are now charging Rs 15 instead of Rs 10 per seat. What can I do? Even CNG prices have gone up and consumption increases due to traffic.”

Local residents of Kharegaon, too, voiced their frustration. Suresh Mahajan, who was stuck in the traffic ahead of Mumbra toll naka, said, “I work as a supervisor in an industrial estate in Patlipada. It generally takes me half-an-hour to reach home but now it is taking over two hours.”

Dharmendra Kumar, whose dumper was stuck at Mumbra toll naka, said, “I have been stuck in traffic for two hours. It took me the same amount of time to reach here from Majiwada.”

Guddu Mishra, a truck driver, said, “The traffic problem started at Nitin junction in Thane. I have to go to Mankoli in Bhiwandi. Before the monsoon, it took me 45 minutes. Now it takes two hours.”

Meanwhile, assuring that they were working on a long-term solution by constructing an eight-lane road, MSRDC vice-chairman and managing director R L Mopalwar said that paver blocks will be used as a stop-gap arrangement.