the goan I network
PANAJI
Commuters between Panaji and Margao at night are in for a four-month spell of hard times from Monday next as night closure of a 3.5-kilometer stretch between Kesarval slope at Sontrant and the Cortalim junction to facilitate work related to on the new Zuari bridge will add a whopping 18-kilometer detour.
The nearly 3.5-kilometer stretch will be shut for vehicles between 11 pm and 7 am from Monday next for the next four months up to October 15, said a notification issued by Vijaykumar Verenkar, who is PWD Chief Engineer for Highways, Roads and Bridges.
Traffic during the eight hours in the night will be diverted from the Verna Titan junction towards the MES College junction, Airport junction, Dabolim-Chicalim junction and Cortalim junction in both directions.
This diversion will add a whopping 18-kilometers to the journey and the plan was first reported by The Goan in December last year.
Emergency vehicles including ambulances and fire-tenders will be allowed to use the closed stretch of the highway, Verenkar said in the notification.
Commuters on this crucial link between North and South Goa have been facing untold hardships for over a year with work being carried out on the eight-lane new Zuari bridge hampering the smooth flow of traffic. Massive traffic jams have at times doubled and trebled travel time between the two cities and also many commuting to and fro the international airport at Dabolim.
There have also been several instances where passengers, particularly tourists have missed flights as they could not get to the airport in time due to the traffic jams at Cortalim.
Meanwhile, Verenkar said, transportation of the pre-cast spine and wing segments of the new bridge from the casting yard at Verna to the site at Cortalim would also be allowed during the day time at non-peak hours.
The night closure is being enforced to facilitate work of erecting spine and wing segments of the superstructure and owing to the restricted width of the highway between Sontrant slope and the Cortalim junction.
“The night closure has been approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, he said, “The spine segment/wing segment transportation from the casting yard to site location shall be permitted in non peak hours of day time also. Non peak hours timing will be from 10 am to 12 noon and 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm,” Verenkar said in the notification.
Signboards mentioning diversion periods with dates in Konkani, English and Hindi will be prominently displayed at the location points of the traffic diversion, he said.
