Motorists face problems as resurfacing of flyovers not done before monsoon

With the work of asphalting on seven flyovers along the Sion-Panvel Highway not undertaken before the monsoon, almost all of them have developed craters and the motorists are facing a lot of issues.

In the first week of April, the Public Works Department (PWD) had announced that they would resurface these seven flyovers between Vashi and Kalamboli with asphalt coating. They had also set aside a budget of ₹15Cr for it, but the work was never undertaken due to lack of response to tenders. These flyovers are located in Vashi, Sanpada, Nerul, Belapur, Kharghar, Kamothe and Kalamboli.

On July 28, the highway saw a severe traffic jam at Nerul after a minor accident occurred on LP bridge. The traffic officials blamed the worn-out surface of the flyover for that accident.

Sarika Desai, deputy engineer, PWD, said, “Our plan was to complete the resurfacing work on all the seven flyovers before the monsoon and floated the tenders accordingly. However, we did not receive response to the tenders on time and thus could not start the work. Now, we have completed all the formalities and the work will be started by the first week of October.

“We will first remove the existing three layers of asphalt on the flyovers and then refill those with new coatings. We will also coordinate with the city traffic department so that we can partially block the highways in those areas where we initiate the work.”

According to another senior PWD officer, the length of the flyovers is not the same and hence they will have separate deadlines for finishing work on each flyover. “We hope to complete the entire work within two months,” he said.

According to PWD sources, they have not resurfaced the flyovers on Sion-Panvel highway since 2014.

RM Bhosale, 51, a resident of Kharghar said, “It has become very inconvenient to drive on the worn-out surfaces of these flyovers. During peak hours, a lot of vehicles cross the flyovers at the same time, and then you don’t have the option of avoiding the craters as there’s no space. If anyone tries to avoid the craters by taking a side, an accident may take place.”