Heavy vehicles choke Mahape-Shil road

NAVI MUMBAI: Traffic snarls have been the order of the day on Kalyan-Shilphata road, Mahape-Shil road, Mumbra-Taloja-Kalamboli (Old Mumbai-Pune Highway) since Tuesday night due to pockmarked roads and plying of heavy vehicles.
Traffic movement along Mahape-Shilphata road which connects Navi Mumbai with Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli was thrown out of gear all through Wednesday because of a massive jam along Old Mumbai-Pune Highway since JNPT-bound multi-axial vehicles have started using this road in large numbers after the Mumbra bypass was thrown open.
Breakdown of a couple of vehicles, potholed stretches and wrong-side entry by motorists made the traffic situation worse with the queue of vehicles stretching to several kilometres.
Traffic cops had a tough time managing the chaos with bumper-to-bumper traffic. It was a nightmare for office-goers who were forced to negotiate along chronic traffic junctions at Mahape, Shil and Navade. “The traffic situation on Mahape-Shil road was horrible on Wednesday morning with most motorists headed for work. I got stuck at Shil junction for over an hour and was late to reach work. This spot needs to be streamlined with traffic management in place,” said Rajan Kore, a corporate executive.
A traffic policemen on duty on the spot said, “The choc-a-block traffic on Old Mumbai-Pune Highway was due to the sudden influx of heavy vehicles in additional numbers after the Mumbra bypass was reopened. Potholes too contributed towards the severe traffic jam. We have been working overtime to streamline the traffic movement. However, light vehicles driving on the wrong side have added to the woes. The traffic scene was equally bad along Shilphata road due to the surging number of vehicles.”