Mumbai-Nashik highway reports heavy traffic jam; motorists urged to use trains

Heavy rainfall in Maharashtra prompted the Thane police to urge motorists to use railway services due to the heavy traffic congestion reported along the Mumbai-Nashik highway since Thursday evening.

The traffic police personnel claimed that major potholes on Saket Bridge led to over 2-km long traffic jam on the route.

Traffic jams were reported across Thane city owing to heavy rains that led to major traffic congestion along several highways in the city namely the Ghodbunder Highway, Eastern Express highway and the Mumbai-Nashik Highway.

“The traffic is slow moving due to potholes on Saket and Kharegaon bridges, we appeal to the motorists to use railways and avoid using roads wherever possible, as major traffic snarls during the day cannot be negated. We are trying to manage traffic across the city; however, the continuous downpour will worsen the situation”, the official handle of the traffic police shared on Twitter.

Also Read: Heavy rain in Mumbai halts traffic as commuters suffer; Andheri subway closed

The traffic was jammed on both sides of the Mumbai-Nashik Highway since Thursday evening.

Datta Kamble, deputy commissioner of police, traffic said, “There is a huge vehicle queue for 1.5km to 2km along the Mumbai Nashik Highway. The jam is from Kharegaon to Mankoli due to the bad condition of the Saket and Kharegaon bridges. We have asked the authorities concerned to fill the potholes as there is no other way to ease the congestion. They have assured that as soon as the rain takes a breather even for few hours, these potholes will be repaired.”

Commuters like Annika Durve, expressed their displeasure at the delays caused due to the heavy traffic.

“I was on my way to the airport to drop off my relatives on Thursday evening, when it took us four hours to reach airport from Tata Amantra in Kalyan. Out of these four hours, we were stuck in Thane for three hours itself. We were worried about missing the flight. There were traffic police however they merely were waving green flags at the motorists, there was no movement of traffic for almost an hour along the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, most of the stretch was riddled with potholes.”