There was a massive traffic pile-up on Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) after a container truck carrying machinery used for Mumbai Metro 3 work broke down in the early hours of Wednesday. Thousands of motorists and commuters were affected. The trailer was cleared around 12.30 p.m. after which the congestion eased on the section.
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The trailer was transporting part of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) used for the Metro line. Mumbai Metro 3 tweeted, “We regret the inconvenience caused. The TBM movement began past midnight as per permission by traffic police however it cld not be completed on time due to adverse weather & slushy road. Our team is currently on grnd resolving the situation & it shld be normalised soon. (sic)”
The trailer broke down on the westbound lane of JVLR, near the Adani Energy office, which is between Powai and SEEPZ. Police officials said there were no injuries and the trailer was stuck in slush. Around 11.45 a.m., the Mumbai Police tweeted, “Traffic is slow-moving due to Metro machine breakdown at Adani Company( Westbound), JVLR. Hence traffic is diverted from - Gandhinagar and Bindumadhav Chowk. Please use SCLR for Western Suburban. (sic)”
However, many on social media expressed their annoyance that the advisory was provided very late and they were already stuck on the road with no way out. Traffic on the key arterial road was crawling through the morning with many spending over four hours.
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The traffic jam extended from the point of the breakdown to beyond the Indian Institute of Technology (Powai). The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking had to divert several buses via Saki Vihar Road until the issue was set right. Interestingly, the BEST was the only government or municipal agency that highlighted the incident on social media as early as 6.55 a.m.