Western bypass underutilised as lack of signboards causes traffic confusion

A traffic sign reading 'Service road starts' greets motorists at the Belem traffic junction in Navelim, when in fact, a sign saying 'Western Bypass starts' should have been installed at the junction. Santosh Mirajkar

Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar

MARGAO
December 23, 2024: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant opened the 11-km Margao Western Bypass for vehicular traffic, providing relief to heavy traffic during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Exactly two months later, the PWD National Highways is yet to install signboards at the Belem-Navelim traffic junction, directing heavy vehicular traffic to take the bypass on their onward journey towards Panaji.

A visit to the Belem-Navelim traffic junction reveals that, while the traffic signals are functional, the highway traffic signboards have yet to be put in place at the junction.

Consider this: the highway bypass traffic signboards are nowhere to be seen around the junction. Instead of the signboards directing national highway traffic to take the bypass, an old signboard stating “Service Road Starts” stands out at the junction, welcoming motorists.

Local motorists, aware of the commissioning of the Western Bypass take the bypass to head to Panaji or northwards. However, inter-state highway traffic, including LPG gas tankers and tankers carrying hazardous goods, continues to use the existing narrow and congested highway through Navelim to access the Eastern Bypass at Rawanfond.

When 'The Goan' contacted Margao Traffic Cell in-charge, DySP Rajendra Prabhudesai, he replied that the signboards were ready for installation but had been sent back to Mumbai for some corrections. He agreed that inter-state highway traffic heading north from the south continues to use the old Navelim road in the absence of traffic signboards at the Belem-Navelim traffic junction.

Diversion of goods carriers heading to Ponda

The Traffic department is also grappling with the issue of diverting goods carriers heading to the Kundaim Industrial Estate from the Eastern Bypass to the Western Bypass to ease traffic congestion on the Navelim stretch of the highway.

Initially, when the Western Bypass was being commissioned, a suggestion was made that no heavy-duty goods carriers should ply on the Belem Junction-Navelim Church-Rawanfond Bridge stretch. Instead, it was suggested that goods carriers from the south should take the Western Bypass at Belem, heading towards Verna, and take the missing link at Loutolim to proceed to Ponda via the Borim Bridge.

Sources, however, are assessing the practicality of the suggestion, given that local goods trucks also travel along the Navelim-Rawanfond junction on a daily basis.

Navelim gram sabha resolution on traffic diversion

The issue of non-installation of the traffic signboards at the Belem junction figured prominently at the recent Navelim Gram Sabha. Members were displeased that, although the Western Bypass has been commissioned since December, heavy goods traffic continues to ply on the narrow Navelim road, aggravating the traffic situation near the Church junction.

In fact, members criticised the authorities for not diverting heavy traffic onto the Western Bypass, questioning the purpose of building the bypass if inter-state traffic continues to use the narrow roads in Navelim village.

Navelim Sarpanch Michael Cardozo has assured that he will write to PWD National Highways to divert all inter-state heavy goods vehicles proceeding to North Goa via the Western Bypass at the Belem traffic junction.