Mumbai: State's oldest RTO gets newest test driving track this month

The Tardeo RTO will have segregated lanes, U-turns, traffic signals, barriers and other facilities required for testing candidates when it is ready

Maharashtra’s oldest RTO at Tardeo will soon get the newest driving test track this month. A light red shade of paver blocks laid above a layer of cemented road part of the track, can be seen over most of the 6-acre ground of this Regional Transport Office (RTO).

The paver blocks being put up at the RTO

Since March, the authorities have been working to level the uneven ground, build a proper storm water drain system to prevent waterlogging, unload paver blocks, bags of cement, soil and other material. First, a proper cemented ground was prepared. Now that the rains have stopped in the past few days, work of placing paver blocks has begun.

“We have levelled the ground, created a path for a deep drainage, as for years there were issues of waterlogging, and laid paver blocks over the cemented road. This will be used as the driving test track,” said a Tardeo RTO official.

Earlier there was a single bumpy path on which vehicles were tested; now, part of the new test track is ready. At the far ends of the ground, work shall be carried out till the fag end of this month. Work has already begun on the parking space for vehicles, private and cabs, coming for tests.

Earlier vehicles would be parked haphazardly on the ground. Every day, around 200 vehicles are taken for fitness tests, while around 150 people come to procure a permanent driving licence. The track is part of the major makeover carried out on this British-era barrack, which was once used as a stable.

Once completed, the new driving test track is tipped to have features such as segregated lanes, U-turns, traffic signals, barriers and other facilities required to test candidates. The buildings in the premises too shall be modified in the near future as the barracks are in shambles. The furniture and doors have archaic designs.

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