It’s a scene that has become very familiar to everyone that travels from Margao to Panjim every day. Scores of vehicles stuck end to end on a stretch of road that has bridge and highway going on simultaneously, riddled with potholes. To make matters worse, no one seems to have any patience, resulting in massively chaotic traffic jams throughout the day. The mornings and evenings are the worst.
The journey in both directions is completely chaotic
While the Zuari bridge work and the highway work has been going on for a while, traffic was never this chaotic. In the last week alone, cars have gotten stuck on the roads, especially the Verna to Cortalim junction stretch due to an abundance of potholes.
Locals and tourists alike struggled to get to their destinations, be it Panjim or the airport. Some tourists even missed their flights given the chaotic state of the road. Despite the presence of the Goa traffic police at different junctions, not much could be done as cars kept forming multiple lanes and overtaking from whichever side they could. Others missed important business and doctors appointments as they were stuck in traffic for more than 3 hours at a time. These jams have even inconvenienced people dropping their children to school.
Various members of the public that use this route to move between Panjim and Margao spoke to TOI and aired their complaints about the inconvenience caused to them. Read the article here.
What is the main reason for the chaotic scenes on the Panjim – Margao route
The main cause of these jams is the multiple, often deep potholes that have developed along the Panjim to Margao route. Not only are there potholes on the Verna – Cortalim junction route but on the Agassaim side as well. This has been established by Superintendent of Police (traffic) Dinraj Govekar and other authorities. “Potholes which have developed towards Agassaim bypass have been a major cause of concern for the vehicular riders. The traffic slows down while negotiating the potholes,” he stated. Additionally, he said that alternate routes need to be mapped to cope with the amount of traffic on this route.
He, along with other officials, has also advised the superintendent of engineer PWD (national highway) Verenkar to install pavers on the affected parts of the road heading to Agassaim. “The superintendent of engineer PWD has assured to patch up the potholes and also to asphalt or tar the road when there is a dry spell and when the traffic movement is minimal,” said Govekar.
Information credit
http://www.navhindtimes.in/bad-roads-throw-traffic-along-zuari-bridge-road-out-of-gear/
http://www.navhindtimes.in/cortalim-traffic-jam-dgp-stresses-on-discipline-road-safety/
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