Slow moving traffic on the WEH at Kandivli. Pic/Satej Shinde
Motorists travelling via the arterial Western Express Highway should brace themselves for heavy traffic, as the work of removing debris and loose boulders at the landslide site near Kandivli will take few more days. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is taking the help of experts from IIT-Bombay to remove the loose boulders and soil.
A senior MMRDA official said, "After removing the debris from the landslide site in Kandivli, we had opened the two south-bound lanes of the highway, but while removing the boulders and loose soil we realised few more boulders and soil in the section are loose and might come down. In order to prevent any mishap we have closed two lanes of the south-bound carriageway once again, and the south-bound traffic has been diverted via the two lanes of the north-bound carriageway of the WEH between Malad and Kandivli."
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IIT-B experts submit report
"Experts from IIT-Bombay visited the site on Friday and submitted a technical report on Sunday, and based on the recommendations further work will be carried out," an MMRDA official said. The landslide was reported on Tuesday on the WEH near Kandivli due to the heavy rain, and because of the same, the south-bound traffic on the arterial road was badly affected.
The area where the landslide took place is a rocky hillock and MMRDA does not want more mishaps, so the work is being carried out under strict supervision.
WEH connects Dahisar to Bandra and vehicles coming to South Mumbai from Mira Road, Thane Ghodbunder Road, Ahmedabad, etc use it daily.
Traffic personnel at site
As the two south-bound lanes have been closed for traffic between Malad and Kandivli near the landslide site, commuters are facing a lot of inconvenience with close to half km-long traffic jams on the south bound stretch of the highway during peak hours. On Saturday when the traffic volume is less compared to the other days, it was still observed that there was close to half a km-long traffic jam on the south-bound stretch.
The traffic police have posted traffic wardens and traffic police constables near the landslide stretch.
In order to avoid getting stuck in traffic on the south-bound stretch of highway near Kandivli, some motorists are taking the New Link Road and SV Road after crossing the Dahisar toll plaza.
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