Traffic crawls at pot-holed Nanthoor Jn on NH 66

MANGLURU: The junctions that bifurcate Mangaluru city at various points on NH 66, linking the Kochi and Mumbai, are becoming a perennial headache for motorists, traffic police as well as residents living on either side of the NH.

The NH bifurcates the city at Mahaveer Circle (Pumpwell), Nanthoor, KPT and Kulur. While Pumpwell saw some relief after a decade long work of flyover, Kulur flyover, without its proper service roads are creating havoc during monsoon with unending traffic snarls. Though originally proposed, the crucial Nanthoor flyover by Mangalore Port Road Company in 2008 it never materialized due to lack of will from the authorities, both district as well as the NHAI. Now the results are to see, with Nanthoor witnessing hour-long gridlocks, never ever seen before.

Traffic police manning the junction are at their wits end since the gridlock is continuing from 7.30am till about 9.30pm, as opposed to earlier traffic congestion from 8 am to 10am and 3 pm to 7.30pm. The problem has been aggravated due to aggressive monsoon this time, with the asphalt being damaged at the Nanthoor junction, affecting the traffic circulation.

Traffic east Police Inspector Anand E says due to large potholes, the vehicles take an extra minute or two, especially heavy vehicles, to navigate the junction affecting the flow. The result: traffic piles up to a kilometre on the Bikarnakatte and KPT side and about half a km on the Pumpwell and Kadri directions.

The Police Inspector said he has been communicating with NHAI engineers to rectify the situation at the earliest by pouring some filler, so that vehicles could negotiate the junction faster. ``I understand that with unending rainfall from the past two days, it’s a Herculean task, but some mitigating measures are needed,’’ pitying the traffic constables manning the junction without a minute’s rest. ``Presently the NHAI contractor is filling potholes near Panambur, and should do the needful by Monday evening or Tuesday, he added.

Without the potholes, the gridlocks on either side would hardly last ten minutes, but now it stretches to more than half an hour, reminding Bengaluru’s Silk Board Junction traffic congestion.

In between the private buses that come from Udupi via KPT towards the city, block the free left towards Bikarnakatte worsening the situation further. The narrow section of the road at that point also results in vehicles going towards Kerala, occupying the free left, without enough space to manoeuvre to allow free left traffic.


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