Katraj to Kiwale stretch drive a breeze after ban on trucks

Pune: Car drivers and motorcyclists on Wednesday found the 32km Katraj to Kiwale stretch of the easterly bypass calmer, less traffic-laden and their commute vastly stress-free.

A three-hour ban in the morning on the Katraj to Kiwale stretch and a four-hour ban in the evening on the Kiwale to Katraj stretch that kept heavy vehicles out came as an answer to thousands of commuters' prayers.

Hours of traffic snarls vanished in a day, the noise pollution from incessant honking was down and the crisp Oct air took on more meaning as people commuted with ease.

Many said after years of horrendous drives along the bypass, Wednesday's commute was enjoyable. After police authorities enforced the morning and evening bans on the movement of heavy vehicles on Katraj-Dehu Road bypass, no traffic jams at Navale Bridge, Mutha River Bridge, Warje Bridge, Hinjewadi, Tathawade, and other spots were reported.

Police stopped all heavy vehicles going towards Mumbai from Satara from using the bypass between 8am and 11am and in the reverse direction between 5pm and 9pm.

Additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil said, "Light motor vehicles and other passenger vehicles reached Kiwale from Katraj in 22 minutes in the morning hours. This journey generally takes one hour and twenty minutes due to traffic jams at various critical points on the bypass."

The decision to ban heavy vehicles was taken by the district collector's office recently, along with police authorities, to reduce troubles for people going to work in Hinjewadi IT Park in the morning hours and returning home in the evening. The decision was made to avert more accidents on the Katraj and Kiwale stretch.

The Pune police, Pimpri Chinchwad police, and State Highway Safety Patrol (HSP) deployed their personnel along the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway to halt the trucks and other heavy vehicles and guide them to open grounds where they could park their vehicles.

On Wednesday morning, TOI spotted very few trucks heading towards Mumbai from Satara. Hundreds of them were parked on a ground in Satara district, another ground near Khed Shivapur, and at an open space near the new Katraj Ghat section.

Vehicles heading towards Satara were halted at Urse, Somatne, and other spots on the expressway and old Pune-Mumbai highway after 5pm.

"The evening exercise was hampered after a truck broke down at Warje Bridge causing a traffic jam. Despite this hiccup, motorists managed to travel at good speed," Patil added.