For months, a journey that once took a few minutes became something commuters had to plan around. Leaving home earlier, sitting through long queues, navigating diversions and wondering how long it would take to reach their destination became part of everyday life for many travelling through Porvorim. Now, after months of being stuck in traffic jams, bumping into potholes and taking narrow diversions, there is finally some relief in sight. The Porvorim Elevated Corridor will be inaugurated on September 9 and is scheduled to open to vehicular traffic on September 11.
DAILY STRUGGLES
We spoke to a few residents from North Goa about how the construction affected their daily commute, the challenges they faced, and whether the disruption could have been handled better. While they agree that it was needed, many are holding off on their verdict until they see how much travel time it actually cuts down. For them, the struggle went beyond long queues, with potholes and diversions making even short journeys longer and, at times, more difficult.
LONG COMMUTES
“Yes, the traffic seriously affected our daily routine, especially while travelling to work. Once, we faced almost two hours of traffic near Socorro, Porvorim, and reached the office at 11:30 instead of the usual 9:30,” remarks Dimple Raut, a resident of Mapusa. She says that while the journey to Panaji would usually take around 20 to 30 minutes, during the construction period it often stretched to more than an hour, making the daily commute quite frustrating. It was a similar experience for Katherine Manuel, whose daily journey to Goa University also became an exhausting affair. What was once a straightforward 25-minute commute often took anywhere between an hour and an hour and a half during the construction period. “The greatest difficulty was the inconsistent diversions and the complete lack of preparation. With the long hours spent in traffic and exorbitant fuel prices, the commute over these months has been a very unpleasant experience,” she says.
PERSONAL TOLL
Arya Naik describes travelling to Panaji over the last two years as “hell”. “Those additional four hours of travel every day left me with little to no personal life. The biggest difficulty was simply the amount of time lost commuting,” she remarks. Travelling by bus, she adds that there was little she could do to take shortcuts or find an alternative route through the traffic. With the flyover now nearing completion, she is looking forward to the promised 10-minute travel time. “I think we all deserve that,” Arya says. Yet, for some commuters, the difficulties went beyond the time lost on the road. The ordeal was particularly personal for Meghna, a resident of Parra, who was involved in an accident around the time construction began. “In October 2025, while heading home at around 7 pm, I met with an accident near Tisker Junction as the road was very slippery due to the sand and mud from the work of the flyover,” she recalls. Fortunately, her helmet protected her from more serious injuries.
BETTER PLANNING
Gautam Lotlikar mentions how friends living in Porvorim had complained about dust entering their homes during the construction. He also points to the traffic diversions through internal roads, with large buses and trucks navigating narrow residential roads in Porvorim and Socorro. “At times, it felt like the focus was on getting the project completed quickly, while the impact on residents and commuters wasn't given enough consideration,” he shares. For residents like Mitali, even getting on and off the main road became a challenge. “In Porvorim, every day they used to close one road and divert the traffic, many times without giving any notice in advance,” she remarks.
While the construction is nearly done and dusted, it has also raised questions about what could have been handled better. Dimple believes proper planning and better arrangements before construction began could have reduced the inconvenience, while Katherine points to the condition of the diverted routes. “If the alternative routes were maintained better and there were sufficient traffic personnel, the situation might have been easier to deal with,” she says. Arya understands that construction of this scale is bound to cause disruption but hopes the flyover makes the ordeal worthwhile. “Now, I just hope the flyover actually delivers the relief we have been waiting for and gives us back some of the time we lost every day,” she says. Meghana too hopes that despite all the complaints, the flyover will solve one of Goa’s busiest traffic problems. Gautam also hopes it will improve emergency response times, recalling ambulances and other emergency services getting delayed in traffic.
Thus, after months of traffic, diversions and frustration, commuters are now waiting to see whether the flyover delivers the relief they have been promised. For them, its success will ultimately be measured by how much easier their daily journeys become.
