Victory for locals: PWD starts fixing potholes on road near Kopri bridge in Thane

Regular protests by residents over the past few weeks have compelled the authorities to fix potholes between Kopri bridge and Anandnagar toll plaza.

Public Works Department (PWD) employees have started filling potholes on the stretch, which eased congestion to some extent. In addition, authorities are likely to open Mumbra bypass before Ganeshotsav. This will ease peak hour congestion.

The stretch between Kopri bridge and Anandnagar check naka is the most congested one between Thane and Mumbai. Commuters claim they spend at least 45 minutes to clear this one-kilometre stretch. Adding to their woes are the potholes. Poor state of the road led to protests by the residents who collobarated with citizens’ groups such as Thane Citizen Forum and Road Commuters Forum.

A PWD official said, “Repair work on the 800-meter stretch from Kopri Bridge to Anandnagar toll plaza started on Thursday. Four units worked on the stretch overnight and filled 25 isolated potholes. They even repaired patches where the road had worn off. Work will be competed in the next two days.”

He said potholes no longer mar the speed of vehicles because the road has become motorable. “Potholes were filled using dense concrete mix. Repair work was done along with MMRDA and TMC.”

MMRDA filled potholes on the Kopri bridge earlier this week. An MMRDA official said, “The bridge is a bottleneck and potholes add to the woes of motorists. The bridge is now pothole-free.”

Kasber Augustine, founder of Thane Citizen Forum, said, “All the potholes on Kopri flyover have been filled. Potholes near the toll plaza have been filled, but paver blocks have popped up at several locations on the stretch. To prevent accidents, these must be fixed. We hope the repair work doesn’t wear off too soon.”

He said the authorities must consider demolishing footpath along the Kopri Bridge, as people use it to dump garbage. The footpath can be levelled and used as another lane. This will ease congestion on the flyover.

Shilpa Bhat, one of the founders of Road Commuters Forum, said, “A lot of work is still pending. Faulty work done using paver block can result in casualties. Travel time has reduced, but it’s negligible.”

Mumbra bypass to open on Sept 10

Panvel PWD officials said repair work of Mumbra bypass is in the final stage and will be completed by September 10. A PWD official said, “We have laid slabs on the bridge and repaired the road that had has caved in. As promised, we can open the road for traffic on September 10.” The opening of Mumbra bypass will ease congestion in the city, as heavy vehicles going towards JNPT can use the bypass.

First Published: Sep 08, 2018 00:45 IST