Overturned truck on Western Express Highway causes major traffic jam; people headed to Mumbai airport delayed

North-bound traffic on the Western Express Highway was affected massively after a truck turned turtle on the flyover at the airport in Santa Cruz on Thursday. The incident occurred around 10 am when the driver of the speeding truck that was north-bound lost control over the vehicle and rammed into the divider and turned turtle. The traffic police said that nobody was injured. Four hippo cranes had to be used to remove the truck from the road and this could be done only three hours later by around 1pm.

“North-bound motorists on the highway suffered due to the incident and it was a task to get four hippo cranes to the spot, amidst the traffic jam in order to remove the train. Traffic movement did not attain normalcy until evening,” a traffic police officer said. Due to the mishap, traffic movement  slowed down and resulted in a pile up which went as far as Dharavi.

There was heavy traffic jam on the Eastern Express Highway as well from Suman Nagar in Chembur to Sion. This was because of heavy congestion on the Sion-Dharavi link road. Heavy encroachments and the presence of hawkers on the carriageway have effectively reduced the width of this arterial road.

Anyone catching a flight pls leave 2 hrs before time. Some accident near the airport. Western express highway is blocked. #mumbai#traffic

— Saiyami Kher (@SaiyamiKher) October 31, 2013

It's after a frustrating #traffic jam when you're in a hurry that you contemplate abandoning #Mumbai altogether

— Avik Ashar (@AvikAshar) October 31, 2013

TV9 crew and other media at the truck accident near domestic #airport on western expressway. #Mumbai #traffic pic.twitter.com/RI0OE0rXgQ

— Jerry Johnson (@jerrystweet) October 31, 2013

DO NOT TAKE THE WESTERN EXPRESS HIGHWAY. CLOGGED FROM BANDRA EAST TO ANDHERI. #mumbaitraffic

— Abba Dabba Jabba (@OB_noxious) October 31, 2013

It's after a frustrating #traffic jam when you're in a hurry that you contemplate abandoning #Mumbai altogether

— Avik Ashar (@AvikAshar) October 31, 2013