Fatal crash, sudden closure: How Goa’s new flyover became a traffic headache

The ₹641-crore corridor was meant to ease congestion around Panjim and Porvorim. Its closure within two days has instead sent traffic back to the old routes.

On September 12, a 5.15-km elevated corridor built in Goa along the Mumbai-Kanyakumari highway to decongest traffic witnessed its first fatal accident, barely 24 hours after it opened to the public.

A speeding car careened into a scooter, sending it crashing into a truck and killing two people. Satish Vengurlekar, the 41-year-old father of two young girls, and car passenger Amita Salgaocar, a resident of Siolim in north Goa, died of their injuries.

Stung by criticism, the Goa government barricaded the motorway’s main exit leading to the state capital, Panjim, within the next 24 hours, a move that would have a cascading impact on commuters—residents and tourists alike.

Atal Setu and the Porvorim elevated corridor—both supposed to serve as chokepoint bypasses—run one after another along the Mumbai-Kanyakumari highway. Atal Setu, a signature bridge over the Mandovi River that opened in 2019, allows traffic to bypass Panjim, while the elevated corridor allows it to bypass Porvorim, a collection of suburban villages north of the capital. Between the two is the interchange that was closed after the accident.

The shuttering of this key interchange meant motorists could use the two links only if they wanted to bypass both Panjim and Porvorim. Those travelling to either town cannot use them, rendering the two structures largely useless for most local commuters. In other words, the two links will remain out of bounds for many of those wishing to travel to the coastal state's popular north Goa beach belt. Panjim and Porvorim are the biggest sources of traffic along the stretch.

The move has compounded the traffic chaos in the area, sparked widespread discontent among residents, made commutes longer for holidaymakers on the key Panjim-Calangute and Panjim-Mapusa stretches in the state known for its tourism, and prompted the Public Works Department (PWD)—the department responsible for the construction and upkeep of the ₹641-crore elevated corridor—to issue a riposte to allegations of faulty design.

A senior PWD official told HT that all issues would be resolved soon, though he did not spell out a timeline. His department has described the corridor's closure as a temporary measure “to assess and monitor the actual traffic movement, pattern, congestion levels and operational performance”.

But residents criticised authorities for the traffic mess, complaining that their commutes have become more difficult and lengthier, especially due to the restrictions on Atal Setu. The elevated corridor, during the mere two days it was accessible to residents of Panjim and Porvorim, cut peak-hour commute times from 45-60 minutes to 15-20 minutes.

"This is the height of ridiculousness. Previously, I could take the Atal Setu bridge when the two old [Panjim] bridges were overcrowded, and get off before the Neo Majestic [a hotel in Porvorim that is also a key traffic intersection] to drive to my home in Porvorim. Now, I am forced to go home by the old bridges,” Sigmund de Souza, a resident of Porvorim, said.

Another Porvorim resident, Sanjeev Naik, summed up the extent of the traffic woes: “Atal Setu approach for locals is blocked at Majestic. Now even Porvorkars are banned from using the access that connects their homes to Atal Setu. What's the point then?"

Previously, Panjim, which lies on the southern bank of the River Mandovi, was connected to the north via two parallel bridges, which would often be congested due to the jostling of office-goers, tourists, passenger buses as well as cargo trucks. Atal Setu, which served as a third bridge over the Mandovi, helped ease the traffic. Cargo trucks running along the Mumbai-Kanyakumari highway, as well as tourist taxis plying between Goa’s Dabolim airport and the tourist destinations of the north, no longer needed to use the two old bridges.