Brace for more traffic snarls at Dwarka junction

NASHIK: Motorists commuting through the busy Dwarka junction are likely to face more problems in the coming weeks, with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) taking up the work to shrink the size of the traffic island from the CBS side. Traffic congestion has become a serious issue at the Dwarka junction, one of the most important junctions in Nashik that connects the Mumbai-Agra highway and the Nashik-Pune highway.Since work of road widening of the Mumbai-Agra highway was taken up in 2010, congestion has only worsened at this point. Despite the widened road, an elevated corridor constructed to bypass the outer traffic over the junction and a subway, traffic continues to progress at a snail's pace at this point.
At present, work on removing traffic islands in front of the four up and down ramps is underway to create more space for vehicles.
While officials of PNG Tollways, the construction company in charge of the project, assured that the work will be over in a couple of days, citizens feel that it could take longer and add to the commotion at the junction at rush hours.
NHAI officials said that a water pipeline has to be shifted closer to the island while shrinking its size. To prevent traffic congestion at the circle, the construction company will divert traffic on the main carriageway from the Mumbai Naka through the island, than make it move along as usual to prevent congestion.
For this, a temporary road is being constructed through the island - which the traffic police feel could create more problems. It will be impossible for bigger vehicles like containers to take a sharp right to move towards the Pune Highway from the junction. NHAI officials, on their part, said that the traffic police may have to provide an alternate route for bigger vehicles.