Soon, travel 22km more to get to Margao from Panaji via Cortalim

PANAJI: Vehicles travelling between Margao and Panaji along NH-66 will have to travel an additional 22km to reach their destination as the 2.3km stretch between Cortalim junction and the Toyota showroom in Verna could be closed for vehicular traffic in the new year.
Bridge contractor Dilip Buildcon Pvt Ltd, which put up the proposal before the state government last month, said this was in public interest till the next phase of the bridge work was completed.Though the government is yet to give its nod for the proposed traffic diversion from Cortalim junction to Chicalim-airport-Verna and from there onwards to Margao, once accepted it is expected to last for 10 months to a year.
“We are yet to decide on the diversion and the matter has been referred to the collector. We will not allow diversion during the festive season. It would be done next year,” SP (traffic cell) Dinraj Govekar told TOI.

The diversion will make commuting between Panaji and Margao on via Cortalim an over 50km drive.
South Goa collector Tariq Thomas said no final decision has been taken as yet.
“There is one option, that of diverting the traffic in the night,” the collector told TOI
Road diversion plan will be finalised by month-end’
The next phase of work on the six-lane bridge involves putting the segments in place.
“Each bridge segment is around 28m wide and will cover the entire width of the existing road. So, in the interest of public safety, traffic has to be diverted till this phase of the bridge work is complete. In other places, there have been mishaps and we want to avoid any risk,” Atul Joshi of Dilip Buildcon told TOI.
Govekar said since the side wing of the bridge is around 30m wide and the existing road is not even 30m, it would be dangerous for the public to drive and ride their vehicles under the construction.
Over 40,000 vehicles travel between Panaji and Margao daily on national highway (NH)-66.
Last month, Dilip Buildcon Pvt Ltd, which is constructing the new Zuari bridge, approached the traffic cell of Goa police to ask it to close NH-66 between the Cortalim junction and Toyota showroom for a year to facilitate the completion of the bridge.
A meeting to finalise and implement the traffic diversion plan was held between officials of Dilip Buildcon, the collector, traffic cell and other government departments. “We will finalise (the diversion) by December end. During the festive season the state sees a high vehicle influx and we will not be able to put pressure (on the diversion route),” Govekar said, adding that for this period the government has asked the builders to give them a side lane to continue traffic on the same stretch.
Asked whether internal roads would be used for traffic diversion, Govekar said locals can used those roads, but people unfamiliar with the internal routes may struggle to find their way.
“Also, we cannot put pressure on internal roads as those are narrow lane roads,” he said.