25 September,2017 02:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The Highway Police plan to install 18-ft heigh height restriction barriers in the first lane of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway taking a cue from the road infrastructure in the US
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway
The Highway Police plan to install 18-ft heigh height restriction barriers in the first lane of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway taking a cue from the road infrastructure in the US. The aim behind this is to keep lane-cutting in check and keep heavy vehicles like trucks out.
Previously, height restriction barriers about 10ft and 16ft in height were repeatedly knocked down by truck drivers who paid no heed to the limitation. There have been 1.15 lakh cases of lane-cutting recorded on the E-Way this year alone which amounts to a 150 per cent surge as compared to 2016.
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According to The Times of India, heavy vehicles continue to use the first lane of Mumbai-Pune Expressway despite being told not to causing lane-cutting which could lead to serious accidents. After a senior officer forwarded pictures of height restriction barriers in New York while on a trip to the United States, barries made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes were installed in 36 locations spanning 18 km from the ghat section of Khalapur.
An official said initially 10-foot high barriers were installed first following which 16.5-foot ones were put up but both were knocked down by motorists.
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After some more research, the Highway Police decided to put up 18-foot high metallic barriers in the first lane with proper signs put up before each one.
The MSRDC have been requested by the Highway Police through writing to fix a realistic speed for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is currently 80 kmph.
Rs 2.4 crore were collected in fines between January-July this year from over 1.22 lakh violations on the Expressway, 95 per cent of which were lane-cutting offences. 1,200 of these cases were pertaining to driving on the wrong side.
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There has been an increase in the number of vehicles using the Mumbai-Pune Expressway during peak hours on the weekends from 5,000 last year to 20,000 this year. This was after the six-hour ban of movement of multi-axle vehicles.
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