Thane traffic jam conditions affected several major roads on Monday morning, delaying commuters on the Eastern Express Highway, Ghodbunder Road, the Kalwa-Vitawa stretch of Thane-Belapur Road and the Mumbra bypass. The disruption affected people travelling towards Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, with many unable to reach work on time, according to a report by Loksatta – Thane.
Traffic was reported near the Mulund toll naka and the Kopri-Anandnagar area on the Eastern Express Highway. The congestion also affected motorists travelling from Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan towards Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. These corridors carry a large daily commuter movement, including private vehicles and buses used by residents travelling to work.
Ghodbunder Road saw particularly heavy congestion around the Gaymukh ghat section. The report attributed the delay to the poor condition of the road, the movement of heavy vehicles and the narrow width of the route. Traffic queues reportedly extended from Chena Bridge to Fountain Hotel.
Drivers on the ghat section took about 45 minutes to cover a distance that would ordinarily require 10 to 15 minutes, the report said. The combination of road conditions and heavy vehicle movement slowed traffic through the section and added to delays for commuters using the route between Thane and the western suburbs.
Congestion was also reported on the Kalwa-Vitawa road, which connects with the Thane-Belapur corridor, and on the Mumbra bypass. Travellers heading towards Navi Mumbai were affected by the slow movement on both routes.
The disruption occurred amid multiple ongoing projects in Thane, a high volume of vehicles and reported problems with road conditions. The Loksatta report did not identify a single accident, road closure or traffic-management order as the immediate trigger for the congestion. Instead, it described the delays as occurring across several routes used for inter-city and intra-metropolitan travel.
The pattern highlights the dependence of Thane’s working population on a limited set of road corridors linking the city with Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. When traffic slows simultaneously on the Eastern Express Highway, Ghodbunder Road, Thane-Belapur Road and the Mumbra bypass, commuters have fewer practical alternatives for reaching employment centres outside the city.
For residents travelling by bus, the impact extends beyond longer driving times because congestion also slows scheduled public transport. The report said that commuters travelling for work faced significant hardship during the Monday morning peak and that many could not arrive at their workplaces on time.
The Loksatta report identified ongoing projects, vehicle volume and road conditions as factors behind the morning congestion. It did not provide details of any immediate clearance operation, traffic diversion or timetable for road repairs. Further information from the relevant traffic and road authorities would be required to establish the operational response and the next steps for the affected stretches.
