MAPUSA
For years, Porvorim motorists measured their journeys in traffic jams, crawling queues and minutes lost on NH66. On Friday evening, many were counting down to one thing – their first drive over the new elevated corridor.
When the moment came, it took about five minutes to cross the 5.15-km stretch.
“It took me just five minutes from the Hotel Majestic side of the corridor to reach this end, the Socorro side,” said Gopal Kamat, one of the first motorists to take the newly opened route.
For Kamat and several others, the journey was less about reaching a destination than experiencing a road they had watched take shape over several months.
The anticipation was evident even before the corridor opened. Motorists, including families in cars and two-wheeler riders, waited nearly 40 minutes at the approaches, determined to be among the first to use the new route.
There was little irritation over the wait, only anticipation. “We have been waiting for the completion of this project for so long. I am very excited to move over the corridor,” said Mapusa resident Enosh Nazareth, who had arrived with his family in his car. For Nazareth, the first drive was also a chance to see whether the corridor would live up to the expectations built around it.
Nicole Fernandes of Pomburpa, waiting on the Socorro side, said the corridor would make a significant difference to her daily commute. “Our roads in Pomburpa are narrow, so I prefer to come this side and use the NH66, which is very convenient. With the opening of the corridor, it will save us a lot of time,” she said.
Families remained inside their cars while two-wheelers lined up alongside them, waiting for the signal to begin their first crossing. Then the barricades were removed. Vehicles moved onto the six-lane structure, and the long wait gave way to a five-minute crossing.
For those who waited nearly 40 minutes to make that first crossing, however, the five-minute journey offered a first glimpse of what the corridor could mean for daily travel – less time lost on one of Goa’s busiest stretches.
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Porvorim flyover gets a divine first traveller
MAPUSA: The first vehicle to cross Porvorim’s newly opened elevated corridor from the Socorro side carried an unusual passenger – Lord Ganesha.
A pick-up van at the head of the queue carried a special cargo – a sarvajanik Ganesh idol brought from Bicholim for installation at Porvorim Police Station. The idol thus became the first Ganesh idol to cross the newly opened corridor.
That made the idol the first Ganesh idol to travel over the newly opened corridor – and possibly one of the most memorable first journeys on the much-awaited flyover. “We have brought the idol from Bicholim, which will be installed at the Porvorim Police Station,” the pick-up driver told The Goan.
The unusual crossing did not go unnoticed. Police personnel accompanying the idol posed for photographs on the elevated corridor before continuing to the police station.
For the police staff, it was a moment worth capturing – Lord Ganesha making a festive first journey over a road Porvorim motorists had waited years to use.
