Traffic across large portions of Pimpri and Chinchwad came to a virtual standstill for 12 hours, after an oversized container got stuck at the Morwadi grade separator in Pimpri around 9.30 pm on Tuesday night. All incoming traffic from Mumbai was blocked, creating quite a fix for commuters travelling in peak hours the next morning.

The height of the Morwadi grade separator is limited to 4.5 metres, and vehicles of greater height are not permitted to enter it. File pic for representation

Not only was the stretch leading up to the grade separator choc-a-bloc with waiting vehicles, other areas such as Morwadi and Pimpri Chowk, and Shivaji Chowk and Mahavir Chowk in Chinchwad also witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The height of the separator is limited to four and half metres, and vehicles of greater height are not permitted to enter it. The driver and passenger in the container did not see the information board specifying the height limit, and entered it. Assistant Police Inspector (Traffic) Savita Sharad said, “The container truck (registered under RJ-14-GA-5343) was above five metres in height, due to which it got stuck. After shutting down the grade separator, the Traffic police then diverted all vehicles to the service road.”

She added, “At around 10.30 am on Wednesday, the container was pulled out by a hydraulic crane. Its tyres had to be deflated, and then removed, to decrease its height. The driver and the passenger were taken to the Mohan Nagar police chowky.”