MAPUSA
The Porvorim Elevated Corridor has six lanes to move traffic. The problem, engineers now point out, is not necessarily on those six lanes – it is at the places where those lanes end.
With two-wheelers barred and four-wheelers facing restrictions following the fatal accident, the spotlight has shifted to a less visible but potentially more fundamental question: Were the entry and exit points of the corridor designed to handle the traffic the elevated road was built to carry?
A former NH engineer says the answer warrants scrutiny.
According to him, the merging zones at both ends fall short of the width required for traffic to smoothly fan out and change lanes.
“As per IRC specifications, the entry and exit points should have a minimum width of around 60 metres to allow vehicles to merge gradually. I don't understand what stopped the engineers from implementing this crucial aspect,” he said, requesting anonymity.
And that, he said, is only half the problem.
Motorists approaching the end of the elevated road should have been progressively warned of the opening ahead, giving them enough time to move into the appropriate lane, he said.
“There should be signboards at regular intervals, at least one kilometre before the opening, so that motorists are forewarned and can change lanes. Blinkers should also be provided at the entry and exit points,” he said.
The concerns assume significance because the present restrictions have effectively created an unusual situation: traffic that the corridor was built to remove from the congested surface road is once again being pushed towards it.
A serving PWD (NH) engineer familiar with highway works questioned the logic.
“Banning two-wheelers is not a way out. What is the use of such a huge project if vehicles are not allowed to use it?” he asked.
He pointed out that the elevated corridor was proposed after five black spots had been identified on the road below.
“The whole idea was to eliminate these black spots. If most vehicles are now directed back onto the road below, congestion on these service roads will continue,” he said.
But there is another side to the argument.
An official associated with Rajasthan-based Rajendra Singh Bamboo Infra Pvt Ltd (RSBIPL), which constructed the corridor, said restrictions on vulnerable road users were standard practice on expressways.
“Most expressways we have constructed do not allow two-wheelers, three-wheelers, tractors, cycles or pedestrians,” he said, pointing out that NH66 forms part of the expressway network.
PWD (NH) Executive Engineer Gajanan Desai, meanwhile, said the present restrictions were not permanent.
“We are soon having a meeting with various departments, including the Road Safety Committee, to discuss the movement of traffic and safety on the flyover and find a way out,” Desai said.
He said the movement of two-wheelers posed a particular challenge because heavy vehicles are required to keep left under national highway norms, while space constraints at the entry and exit points further complicated traffic management.
