In the wake of a mishap near Navale Bridge which claimed the lives of eight people on Friday, even as officials of Pune Municipal Corporation, city traffic police, highway police and PMRDA have decided to implement a three-pronged strategy to ease the speed of vehicles and minimise accidents along the stretch — starting from New Katraj tunnel to the Navale and Vadgaon bridges — it has emerged that the service roads in the area have remained undeveloped for 18 years which could have helped ease the traffic nightmare.
Highlighting the PMC’s intention to effectively ease commuting on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass, which is part of the Pune-Bengluru highway, Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Saturday said the civic administration will undertake the construction of service roads on priority on both sides of the highway. “The service roads have not been made for 18 years. They should have been made. We want to ensure that the service roads are used by local traffic while the long distance traffic uses the highway stretch. We believe that the service roads will help ease the traffic nightmare on the stretch as the local traffic won’t have to use the highway,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Himmat Jadhav said, “It is important that service roads should be developed to full capacity. At the same time, like the Pune-Mumbai Expressway where two-wheelers are banned, on this stretch too right from Katraj tunnel, two-wheelers should be banned. They should use only the service roads.”
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Jadhav said, “If PMC, PMRDA, NHAI and PWD develop service roads and underpasses, then fatalities on this stretch will come down by 60 to 70 per cent.”
Revealing figures of accidents from Katraj tunnel to Navale bridge and even Vadgaon bridge, Jadhav said in the last five years, 93 people died in 76 accidents. “From Katraj tunnel to Vadgaon bridge, 93 people have died in 76 accidents in last five years. Yesterday’s accident had the highest fatalities.”
The PMC commissioner said service roads will be made jointly by PMC, NHAI and PMRDA. “The service roads will be made in six months,” he said.
The PMC commissioner said different government authorities have decided that a three-pronged strategy should be implemented to ensure safe travel through the dangerous four-kilometre stretch starting from Katraj tunnel.
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Though the civic body does not have control over the Pune-Bengaluru highway, Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said it is taking an initiative to curb accidents as the area falls within the jurisdiction of the civic limit.
As part of the three-pronged approach, the PMC commissioner said they have decided on police regulating traffic along the highway. The aim is to slow down the speed of vehicles on this stretch,” he said.
Ram said that secondly, the NHAI will construct rumbler strips after every 500 metres on the highway. “The rumble strips will not be like the present ones. The thickness of the rumbler strips will be increased,” he said.
The PMC chief said that thirdly, there will be a police post and the presence of police personnel along the highway.
“The presence of a police chowki ensures a sense of discipline among drivers. Police might argue that they are not in a position to check every vehicle, but I think mere police presence will instill fear among the drivers, especially those of heavy vehicles,” he said.
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The PMC chief said the current mess in and around Navale bridge is because of the sudden merging of traffic from all sides.
Regarding the construction of the elevated road which was announced by Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol on Friday, the PMC chief said, “NHAI will implement the elevated road plan. I am in touch with NHAI. We are expecting the road in two and half years. PMC will follow up with NHAI.”
DCP Jadhav said rumble strips which will be laid on the highway will have a higher thickness of 5 mm to 15 mm. “This is aimed at slowing down vehicles. As of now, vehicles are allowed to ply at 60 kmph. Our speed guns challan vehicles which go beyond 60 kmph. The speed limit will be pegged at 3–40 kmph henceforth on this stretch,” he said. Officials said a notification will be soon issued in this regard.
DCP Jadhav said, “The elevation difference between Katraj tunnel and the lower point of Navale bridge is 180 metres. When a heavy vehicle like a container leaves Katraj tunnel, the drivers are not able to apply brakes because of the heavy payload. The air brakes get heated up and detached. No matter how hard the driver tries, he cannot apply brakes.”
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DCP Jadhav said, “The slope from Katraj tunnel is as per the norms of the Indian Road Congress but it is still fatal. The severity of the slope should be brought down… The reason for the high fatalities on this stretch is because when a vehicle comes from a long distance, say Kolhapur or Belgaum, the driver suddenly encounters traffic in Pune moments after leaving Katraj tunnel. As he may have been travelling at 60-70 kmph from Kolhapur and Satara, which are not as chaotic as Pune, he suddenly finds an array of vehicles moving in all directions which confuses him, leading to accidents. I think therefore the segregation of vehicles by road and by time is necessary to reduce accidents.”
PMC officials said they will rope in a traffic engineering firm to make a comprehensive plan for the stretch from New Katraj tunnel to Mutha river bridge on the highway stretch. Civic officials said it has been decided that cameras will be installed on the entire stretch to check violation of traffic norms. “Several steps are being taken jointly by different authorities to minimise chaos and accidents on this stretch,” the PMC chief said.
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