PANJIM: If the Chimbel junction was beating heart, the total traffic would have caused it to stop beating. And collapse.
The Merces-Old Goa highway was constructed at a whooping cost of Rs 300 crores. However, the work which began on the flyover in 2004 has not been completed till now, activists said.
Traffic congestion occurs on a regular basis at Chimbel junction. The peak traffic is seen in the morning and evening hours. Hundreds of cars and heavy vehicles are piled up on both lanes of the road. The work on the Chimbel flyover has intensified the traffic congestion, testing the patience of motorists and wasting their precious time and increasing commuting time from Ponda to Panjim and vice versa.
Now, heavy machinery has been deployed to build the flyover and the width of the otherwise narrow junction has now been reduced to a single lane each for traffic coming into Panjim and traffic going towards Ponda.
Tanoj Adwalpalkar, who uses the highway on a daily basis, told O Heraldo, “This bypass was constructed in 2004. Again in 2014 they undertook the expansion of the bypass. Rs 300 crores was spent on this project."
"Why did they not construct the bridge in 2004 when the highway was being done? This is basically to escalate the costs,” he said.
“Ironically though, this highway was constructed to take the burden off the Old Goa-Ribandar road. The old road was closed due to the Smart City works, causing traffic congestion on this highway. The old road has been left in such a bad shape that people cannot use it now,” Adwalpalkar said.
Regarding traffic management, he pointed out that two constables have been deputed here, but most of the time they are busy on their cellphones.
“They are not paying attention to the traffic or pedestrians who want to cross from Ribandar to Chimbel,” he pointed out.
Mariano Ferrao, a local resident said, “Our chief minister passes on this highway on a daily basis but since he has a police escort he faces no trouble. But ordinary people are not so fortunate. The sufferings are unbearable….our fuel and time are both wasted. This is the main artery for those going towards Panjim.”
“Otherwise too this is an accident prone zone, but now since there are only two lanes, there is a daily occurrence of accidents. Given the delays, a big question mark hangs over the flyover and the highway whether they will be completed before the Exposition of St Francis Xavier. I urge the CM and the authorities to pay attention and act fast,” Ferrao requested.