mumbai

Updated: May 08, 2018 11:25 IST

Thane commuters coming into Mumbai during the morning peak hours on Tuesday had to contend with severe traffic jam on the Eastern Express Highway, following theclosure of Mumbra bypass for repairs on Monday.

Know your routes Light vehicles: Cars, bikes and auto-rickshaws that use the bypass will commute from Mumbra along the old Mumbai-Pune Road. This will increase traffic congestion in Mumbra, but it cannot be avoided, the traffic police said.

Trucks carrying essential goods: These can take the same route between 12am and 5am

Diva-Agasan Road: If the construction of Diva-Agasan Road is completed early, it can be used along with Mumbra city road for light vehicles.

Traffic came to a complete standstill at Anandnagar toll plaza as now vehicles heading to Navi Mumbai also have to take the Mulund-Airoli route via Anandnagar. “There was major congestion near Anandnagar toll plaza in the morning due to the closure of the bypass,” said Amit Kale, deputy commissioner of police, Thane traffic division. “The congestion eased somewhat after we started an extra lane at the toll post.”

The Mumbra bypass road is one of the key routes for heavy vehicles heading towards Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Nashik and Bhiwandi. The public works department first said it would start repair work on the road in mid-April. However, lack of co-ordination between various departments delayed the start of work. The Panvel PWD has said that repairs will take over two months, and with the monsoon just a month away, officials suspect work will get further delayed.

The traffic department has recommended several diversions until the seven-kilometre-long bypass road is reopened to traffic. Kale said: “People were aware about the bypass work, so many took the diversions. There were no jams in Kalwa and Mumbra.”

About Mumbra bypass Constructed seven years ago to restrict heavy vehicles from entering Mumbra town, the bypass developed cracks and potholes within a few days of its opening. In the monsoon, there is also the danger of landslides on this road,

Around 50,000 or more heavy vehicles ply on this road, towards Bhiwandi, Taloja, Panvel and JNPT.

Vehicles going towards Delhi, Agra, Ahmedabad and Chennai also use the bypass.

The road is under the state PWD.

Every day, around 15,000 containers, apart from thousands of light vehicles, pass through the Mumbra bypass road. Now, the traffic flow from JNPT will be controlled, and only 20% of the total vehicles will be allowed to move out at any given time; the remaining 80% will have to wait at JNPT for their turn.

The police have also decided to allow heavy vehicles on Ghodbunder Road and the Eastern Exppress Highway during the non-peak hours, where most vehicles will be diverted from the old Mumbai-Pune highway towards Karjat to Murbad, Shahpur and the NH3 to Nashik or Bhiwandi.