National Highway Works at Agasaim Stack Traffic on Narrow Goa Velha Road | Goa News
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PANAJI: If the existing traffic jams on both sides of the Zuari bridge were not sufficient, the closure of a single lane of the Agasaim ring road on the NH 66 for concrete realization aggravates the traffic problem, which should not be ‘only aggravate during the holidays and high tourist season.
The closure of the lane was notified until December 15.
All vehicle movements from Panaji to Margao are currently diverted via the old, narrow road to Goa Velha-Pilar village, choking traffic between the two districts. It was not until last Thursday that a few vehicles were authorized despite the closure of the lane, on the road under construction.
The PWD issued the notice of temporary closure of a single track between October 27 and December 15 in order to facilitate the construction of the national road.
Only a narrow and extremely bumpy shoulder of the highway under construction is open to vehicles traveling between the Zuari Bridge and Bambolim.
Vehicles traveling from North Goa to Vasco and Margao therefore have no choice but to take the Goa Velha-Pilar road.
This narrow, two-lane road has experienced bumper-to-bumper traffic since the closure of the bypass road.
When the KTC buses, especially the large electric buses, stop for passengers along this route, even for a few seconds, the traffic builds up because there is no alternative on the two-lane route. . The congestion is visible from Siridao to the bridge during rush hour.
PWD officials told TOI that Zuari Bridge contractor Dilip Buildcon is expected to finish laying the concrete pavements by Tuesday, after which the concrete will take an additional 28 days to harden.
The quality could suffer from the increasing pressure to open the road, PWD said.
A wing of the bridge is slated to open on December 19 to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Goa.
“Technically, 28 days are required for the concrete to cure and consolidate. But we can’t afford that much time. Considering the traffic situation, we may have to open the road before that. A service road to allow some of the traffic to pass has already been opened and it is planned to open the whole road by December 10, â€PWD told TOI.
An engineer and regular commuter on the road said the concretization work could have been undertaken during the off-season. “They have wasted this time. It is nothing more than poor project management. Other options could have been developed, â€he said.
The traffic situation is likely to become more chaotic with the International Indian Film Festival, the novena and feast of Saint Francis Xavier, long weekends, Christmas and New Years.
Mariano Pinto, an office worker who travels between Margao and Porvorim, told TOI he started using his two-wheeler instead of his car to get to work. “It is not easy to drive on the unpaved and dusty road of the Agasaim ring road with a two-wheeler, but if I take my car, the whole journey is much longer and it costs me dearly. Potholes and uneven stretches of road are also responsible for slowing down traffic, â€he told TOI.
He suggested that taxis from North Goa going to the airport be diverted to the Verna road instead of being allowed to go to Cortalim circle, where there are also traffic jams.
DySP Traffic (North) Salim Shaikh, told TOI that 50 traffic police officers have been deployed between Bambolim and Cortalim as well as on the internal Pilar road. “We are doing our best to keep the traffic moving,†he said.
The closure of the lane was notified until December 15.
All vehicle movements from Panaji to Margao are currently diverted via the old, narrow road to Goa Velha-Pilar village, choking traffic between the two districts. It was not until last Thursday that a few vehicles were authorized despite the closure of the lane, on the road under construction.
The PWD issued the notice of temporary closure of a single track between October 27 and December 15 in order to facilitate the construction of the national road.
Only a narrow and extremely bumpy shoulder of the highway under construction is open to vehicles traveling between the Zuari Bridge and Bambolim.
Vehicles traveling from North Goa to Vasco and Margao therefore have no choice but to take the Goa Velha-Pilar road.
This narrow, two-lane road has experienced bumper-to-bumper traffic since the closure of the bypass road.
When the KTC buses, especially the large electric buses, stop for passengers along this route, even for a few seconds, the traffic builds up because there is no alternative on the two-lane route. . The congestion is visible from Siridao to the bridge during rush hour.
PWD officials told TOI that Zuari Bridge contractor Dilip Buildcon is expected to finish laying the concrete pavements by Tuesday, after which the concrete will take an additional 28 days to harden.
The quality could suffer from the increasing pressure to open the road, PWD said.
A wing of the bridge is slated to open on December 19 to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Goa.
“Technically, 28 days are required for the concrete to cure and consolidate. But we can’t afford that much time. Considering the traffic situation, we may have to open the road before that. A service road to allow some of the traffic to pass has already been opened and it is planned to open the whole road by December 10, â€PWD told TOI.
An engineer and regular commuter on the road said the concretization work could have been undertaken during the off-season. “They have wasted this time. It is nothing more than poor project management. Other options could have been developed, â€he said.
The traffic situation is likely to become more chaotic with the International Indian Film Festival, the novena and feast of Saint Francis Xavier, long weekends, Christmas and New Years.
Mariano Pinto, an office worker who travels between Margao and Porvorim, told TOI he started using his two-wheeler instead of his car to get to work. “It is not easy to drive on the unpaved and dusty road of the Agasaim ring road with a two-wheeler, but if I take my car, the whole journey is much longer and it costs me dearly. Potholes and uneven stretches of road are also responsible for slowing down traffic, â€he told TOI.
He suggested that taxis from North Goa going to the airport be diverted to the Verna road instead of being allowed to go to Cortalim circle, where there are also traffic jams.
DySP Traffic (North) Salim Shaikh, told TOI that 50 traffic police officers have been deployed between Bambolim and Cortalim as well as on the internal Pilar road. “We are doing our best to keep the traffic moving,†he said.
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