Shahad flyover shut for 20 days for major repairs; traffic diversion may cause severe congestion

THANE: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will commence repairs on the Shahad Rail flyover on National Highway 61 from Monday midnight. The flyover, which connects Kalyan with Ulhasnagar, Murbad and further to Ahmednagar district, will remain closed for approximately 20 days, until the night of Nov 23. During this period, the bridge will be completely shut for all vehicles, except emergency services, and traffic will be diverted to alternative routes.

The closure is expected to cause heavy congestion on internal roads of Kalyan and Ulhasnagar. To ensure coordination among agencies, a joint meeting was held on Monday at the office of BJP MLA Kumar Ailani, attended by officials from NHAI, the traffic police, Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), MSRDC, and the State PWD. During the meeting, NHAI and the contractor assured that work would be carried out on a war footing to complete the project ahead of schedule.

MSRDC informed that approximately 240 buses that usually ply through the Shahad flyover towards the 17-Section area will be diverted via Dolphin Road and further through Kajal Petrol Pump towards Vitthalwadi in Kalyan to minimise inconvenience to passengers. With diversions expected to choke internal city roads, traffic police urged civic agencies to fill potholes by Monday night to avoid additional traffic issues. Both UMC and the State PWD assured that road repairs would be completed before the diversions came into full effect.

MLA Ailani appealed to citizens to cooperate with all agencies during the closure period, stating that the repair work will provide major relief from the ongoing traffic congestion once completed.

Constructed in 1987, the two-lane, 500-metre Shahad rail overbridge is now 38 years old. As per NHAI officials, this is the first time the bridge will undergo full re-asphalting. Bearings below the bridge were recently replaced, and the current repairs include removal of the existing surface layer, repair of expansion joints, and full re-asphalting of the flyover, which will restore the structure to near-new condition and eliminate recurring potholes.

The work was initially scheduled for last month but postponed due to heavy festive traffic during Diwali. However, NHAI continued work beneath the structure and completed bearing replacement without shutting the flyover.

Local resident Manohar Ramchandani stated that along with repairs, NHAI must expedite work on the promised alternate bridge to handle increasing traffic, as commuters are struggling with daily jams.

The flyover is a also key route for the transport of fruits and vegetables from Junnar, Alephata and Murbad to the Kalyan APMC market. According to a notification issued by DCP (Traffic) Pankaj Shirsat, all vehicles will be barred from using the bridge, with only essential services exempted. Heavy vehicles are further restricted on diverted routes between 6am–11am and 5pm–10pm.

Traffic police have implemented a diversion plan for vehicles from Murbad, Kalyan, Bhiwandi and Thane, with key diversions at Barvi Dam Phata, Dahagaon Phata, and Durgadi Bridge to reroute traffic via Badlapur, Palegaon, Newali, Malanggad Road, Lodha Palava, Shil-Daighar and Patripul.