By next June, end to Thane-Vadpe traffic jams

Mumbai-Nashik highway road widening work is in progress near Kharegaon toll naka at Kalwa, in Thane, on Friday. Pic/Satej Shinde

There's good news for daily commuters who get stuck in traffic daily on the Vadpe-Thane stretch of the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has expedited the widening work of this important road. At present, it takes over an hour to travel between the two destinations. Once the road-widening work is completed, the distance will be covered in 20-30 minutes.

The MSRDC plans to complete the work by the middle of next year. An MSRDC official said, "The work on the project has already begun and by the middle of next year the road widening will be complete and the four-lane road will become an eight-lane one."

Motorists heading towards Nashik and returning to Thane via the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, also known as the Bhiwandi bypass, face a lot of inconvenience as the Vadpe-Thane highway comprises just four lanes, which leads to traffic snarls during the morning and evening peak hours. On some days, it even takes an hour to 90 minutes to cover a 20-25 km stretch, and the situation gets worse during the monsoon.

Speaking to mid-day, motorist Rahul Dighe said, "Travelling on the Vadpe-Thane stretch has been a nightmare for many years as this important stretch has just four-lanes. We are happy that MSRDC has started the road-widening work as this will help in solving the traffic issue on this road and give much respite to motorists who use this important stretch daily."

In June 2021, an agreement was signed between the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and MSRDC, wherein the project was handed over to the latter, as the contractor appointed by NHAI had failed to carry out the work.

21 June
Date on which MSRDC took over the project from NHAI