Two days after the Navale bridge accident, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which has drawn fire from all quarters, Tuesday passed the buck on to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). NHAI officials said the civic bodies have failed to set up proper service roads on both sides of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway. They added the highway has become a “choke point”, spawning jams throughout its length.
From Ravet in Pimpri-Chinchwad to Katraj in PMC limits, the highway runs for 32 kilometre. “Service roads are available but there is no continuity. In the absence of service roads, local traffic is occupying the highway in a big way. Both PMC and PCMC should take responsibility and set up service roads,” a senior NHAI official told The Indian Express.
When contacted, NHAI project director S S Kadam said they have taken up the matter with the civic bodies, especially the PMC. “When the highway was constructed, it was not done so taking into consideration the local growth in population or traffic. There has been rapid urbanisation on both sides of the road. It was constructed for long distance traffic. However, vehicles going from Kothrud to Hinjewadi or Wakad to Pune city, all use the same highway stretch. As a result, local and long distance traffic merge on the highway, leading to jams and accidents,” said Kadam.
Pointing out that four-lane service roads with continuity was needed to ease the load on the highway, Kadam said, “About 22 km of the highway stretch comes within the limits of PMC while 10 km is within the limits of PCMC. The PCMC has already taken the initiative of constructing service roads from Ravet. They have prepared a detailed project report. However, PMC needs to move quickly. We have already spoken to PMC officials. Service roads do exist but are not continuous. Because of this, vehicles prefer the highway stretch as they get a long distance travel without a break.”
Officials said the existing service roads are not wide enough to accommodate two vehicles. “The roads are also not wide enough. There are encroachments near the service roads which need to be removed. The civic bodies should initiate proper action,” NHAI officials said.
Stating that they would be visiting the entire stretch of the highway to identify the black spots, the deficiencies and other problems, Kadam said, “We will prepare a detailed project report on the 32-km road so that appropriate corrective measures can be taken to resolve the problems. The highway has become a choke point with traffic jams across its length.”
Kadam said since the long distance traffic gets stuck on the highway, there is a suggestion to construct an elevated road on the 32-km stretch. “Then again there will be a problem of land acquisition. It might face opposition from the local villagers who had earlier parted with their land for the bypass. If not an alternative road, a separate bypass will be needed for long distance traffic,” he said.
Prashant Inadmar, who heads the Pedestrians First, said, “After the highway was constructed, it seems it was left to fend for itself. The growth of traffic has been phenomenal. Both long distance and local traffic freely use the highway stretch. Had there been time for studies and investigations, we would not have faced such a situation. Even now, a scientific study should be undertaken to understand the full range of problems on this 32-km stretch. Once we identify the problems, we would be able to take corrective measures. There is a need to rope in highway engineering and civil engineering experts.”
At least six people were injured when a truck with suspected brake failure rammed into several other vehicles in Pune’s Navale Bridge area on Sunday night. As many as 24 vehicles, including the truck, were heavily damaged in the accident. The incident took place around 8.30 pm when the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle down a slope and rammed into several other vehicles, including cars, bikes and other four-wheelers, the police said.
