HOLEY RIDE: Rains shoot Mumbai's highway to tatters

Brace for a long, bumpy and dangerous ride on the 26-kilometer Western Express Highway that is now dotted with craters more than ever.

The potholes that have begun appearing after the heavy spell of rains have not only begun causing traffic snarls at several stretches, but have also become a potential threat for two-wheelers.

On Wednesday, this correspondent took a ride from Dahisar to Bandra only to find out that while huge craters have already appeared on both north and southbound lanes, at several other stretches, potholes are beginning to sprout, which means that the highway would soon go from being bad to worse.

Currently, the worst potholes are along the Sai Dham flyover, Malad flyover, the stretch along Pushpa Park, Jogeshwari flyover towards Andheri end, the junction of the highway and Andheri-Kurla road, Airport flyover, Vakola flyover and Kala Nagar junction.

"It's appalling that potholes on the entire highway have been accepted as a yearly feature. It is as if the government has made it clear that nothing can be done about it irrespective of the risk they pose for bikers or the long jams they cause," said Kimaya Shah, a resident of Kandivali who rides a scooter daily to Oberoi Mall where she works.

The stretch between Dahisar and Andheri is the lookout of the MMRDA while that between Andheri and Bandra is with the PWD. But all the flyovers (except Kalanagar and Kherwadi, which are with PWD, and Malad flyover, which is with MMRDA) on the highway are with MSRDC and are maintained by MEPL that has the contract to collect tolls at city's five entry points.

"Our top priority is relief for motorists, so we are putting paver-blocks on potholes for now. We will layer the affected stretch with tar once we get a dry spell," said MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar.

A PWD official said that they are continuously monitoring the potholes.