Connector road for Pen pending, trucks have to go through divider opening and cross city-bound lanes of E-way at Khalapur toll naka
Connector road for Pen pending, trucks have to go through divider opening and cross city-bound lanes of E-way at Khalapur toll nakau00a0
This will beat any edge-of-the-seat Hollywood car crash scene, with the one difference that any actual collision has so far been avoided. If you just stand beside the Khalapur Toll Naka on the Expressway, there is a near-miss to be seen almost every minute. The issue is that heavy vehicles heading to Pen have to cut through the divider to enter the road leading there, in the process crossing the city-bound lanes of the Expressway. This is because a connector road to Pen is still pending construction. Also, a special exit at Lonavla that could be taken if one wanted to go to Pen has been off limits for heavy vehicles for some time. 
On crash course: Trucks cross the path of vehicles coming towards the
city from Mumbai
The temporary opening in the divider just a few metres ahead of the
Khalapur toll naka. Pics/Parth Satam
Ticking time bombs
All this has led to two possible accident scenarios. While one mishap scenario is city-bound vehicles crashing into the turning trucks, the other is where Mumbai-bound vehicles on the fastest, right-most lane collide from behind into the line of trucks waiting to take a turn at opening in the divider.
In the first scenario, city-bound vehicles, immediately after leaving the toll naka, have to dodge trucks cutting through the divider as these head towards Pen. The trucks wanting to head to Pen have a specially reserved lane at the naka for this, but before they can get there they have to cross city-bound lanes. What happens in the process is that when a city-bound vehicle pays the toll and leaves the naka, it either suddenly brakes or dangerously dodges the turning trucks.
When MiD DAY visited the spot, several cars were seen braking suddenly to avoid a collision with trucks. Some managed to take sharp turns before steadying themselves to avoid a collision. One such luxury bus made a screeching halt just a few metres away from a truck.
Personnel from the expressway contractors, Ideal Road Builders (IRB), were standing at the divider opening and regulating the traffic. They were alternatively releasing the trucks towards Pen and the cars waiting to head towards the city. But some of them admitted that the heavy rush was sometimes difficult to control.u00a0
u00a0The second possible mishap scenario arises because heavy vehicles queue up for up to a kilometer in the right-most lane of the Mumbai-bound side of the Expressway as they wait to take the turn for Pen. Other vehicles speeding on the right-most lane have to suddenly brake or abruptly change lanes to avoid getting stuck or colliding into the queued-up trucks. The long line of trucks also means traffic congestion is high on the remaining two lanes of the Mumbai-bound side.
Traffic snarl-up
There is also a traffic problem caused because of this stopgap arrangement. There are huge traffic snarls at the toll naka on the city-bound side since vehicles there have to wait till the trucks cut through from the other side to head to Pen, particularly on weekend mornings, between 8 am and 10 am.u00a0 According to IRB staff, the snarl-ups last for as long as 30 minutes and limited manpower makes it difficult to handle the situation.
Amit Belhekar, the toll in-charge admitted that the situation was tight but said everything was being done to ensure no mishaps took place. "There are men present at all times and no mishap has taken place till date. This is an official temporary arrangement and things will be back to normal right after the Pen connector is constructed," he said, refusing to comment further.
Officialspeak
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) Executive Engineer A P Abrol said that the land had already been acquired for the connector road to Pen when the highway was constructed but the plan was stalled because of issues raised later by the landowner. "The owner alleged that the MSRDC had acquired more land than originally agreed and the matter became sub-judice for a few years. The Bombay High Court delivered a verdict in our favour and the issue is now resolved. In a month's time, the construction will be complete," he said.
Pen connector and khopoli exit
The Pen connector had been planned at the time the Expressway was conceptualised, but it has remained stuck in land acquisition issues, which are now being resolved. Even so, he situation was not so chaotic at the Khalapur Toll Naka till a few months ago as vehicles could use the Khopoli exit near Lonavala. But this exit is now closed to heavy vehicles after a series of accidents. Trucks now have to come down all the way to the Khalapur Toll Naka and take the risky turn to Pen. Police Sub-Inspector S L Bhosale from the Borghat Traffic Aid Post said that the Khopoli exit has sharp curves which long heavy vehicles cannot negotiate. "A serious of accidents took place two-three months ago and it was then closed for trucks and buses," he said.
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