PORVORIM
A portion of the highway caved in near the Nexa showroom in Porvorim on Saturday morning, while drilling work was in progress for the elevated corridor project.
Traffic along one side of the highway was later diverted, leading to congestion along the CHOGM road.
When contacted, Porvorim Traffic Inspector Sanjit Kandolkar said the traffic police on duty noticed the portion of the highway caving in at about 8 am.
“I alerted my superiors who decided to immediately stop the movement of traffic from Panaji to Mapusa at the O’Coqueiro Circle,” said PI Kandolkar.
In a bid to prevent any untoward incident, traffic proceeding from Panaji-Mapusa side of the highway was diverted at O’Coqueiro junction to proceed via CHOGM road and further through the newly constructed road opposite the Wellness Pharmacy to reach the Porvorim Bazaar slope on NH 66 for onward journey.
Traffic was allowed to continue on the other side of the Mapusa-Panaji side of the highway.
Traffic police were also deployed at all the major intersections and for guidance of motorists, as efforts were underway to repair the caved portion of the road.
However, there was a traffic jam along the CHOGM road on account of the unexpected diversion in traffic.
“After the caved portion of the road was partially repaired, it was decided to permit only light vehicles to proceed on the NH66 via the O’Coqueiro Junction. As soon as the damaged portion of the road is fully repaired, all vehicles will be allowed to proceed towards Mapusa on the existing highway,” said PI Kandolkar.
