Eastern Freeway: Highway to Jam

Elevated stretch of Eastern Freeway choked for hours after truck overturns on southbound arm

A truck overturned on the elevated stretch of Eastern Freeway towards CSMT causing a major roadblock on Friday afternoon. According to the Sewri police, the accident took place around 1pm when the truck’s tyre burst and the driver lost control over the vehicle. Given the speed of the vehicle, it zig-zagged and eventually overturned. Fortunately, given the time of the accident, there were fewer vehicles ahead of the truck. Notably, heavy vehicles, except pre-designated buses, are banned on the elevated stretch.

The police said the truck was a delivery vehicle. After it was towed away, wooden crates of what seemed to be fruits were lined along the side of the road. The driver of the vehicle escaped the accident by managing to jump out of the vehicle when he lost control over it.

The Wadala traffic police first reached the spot, followed by the Sewri police. Given the

mess created by the wooden boxes and tempo in the middle of the road, the vehicles couldn’t move forward, eventually leading to piling up of traffic for more than four hours. It

took an extra hour for traffic to return to normalcy.

Motorists took to X to vent their frustration. On condition of anonymity some of them said that trucks and

two-wheelers, though banned on the stretch, continue to move freely. They accused the traffic chowki on the road of allowing them for a bribe. Some others said that it’s a regular feature in the night and traffic personnel turn a blind eye. “How is it that trucks themselves come and stop at the chowki in the night and are then allowed to go?” asked one motorist.

On Friday, four hours after the accident, the traffic movement towards CSMT continued to be snail-paced. A motorist travelling to South Mumbai said, “Today there was an accident, but every day these heavy vehicles ply comfortably and no traffic policeman bats an eye. Rather, they let them go after paying some so-called ‘fine fee’.” Another said, “Freeway should be called Eastern Jamway as it’s jammed all along – both the bounds! Just some days ago, a car caught fire and the stretch choked for hours. It has become a daily routine.”

On Friday evening, the police were in the process of registering a formal complaint against the driver of the truck for rash driving and driving dangerously, officials from the Sewri police station said.