Team Herald
MARGAO: Following Thursday’s accident at the Western Bypass Bridge underpass, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas highlighted critical flaws in the bridge’s engineering and design, emphasising that its current configuration compromises both safety and traffic efficiency.
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He made these comments after a second joint inspection was held at the site.
Citing an alarming increase in accidents at this location, Viegas said they were implementing urgent interim safety measures, which include strategic placement of temporary barricades and construction of speed breakers to regulate vehicle movement at this high-risk junction.
He also added that measures such as installing convex mirrors, making sure there are functional streetlights, placing rumblers wherever necessary, would be taken up shortly.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Traffic, South Goa, Rajendra Prabhudesai, added that work like proper signage needs to be completed and felt that the speed breakers at present need to be improved. He added that they had also taken note of areas on the bypass which could be accident prone.
Viegas added that linkage to service roads is a concern and that these measures will hopefully slow down the speed of vehicles.
He pointed out that in the first inspection held earlier this month with all the departments concerned, all the work that needed to be done was listed out. However, he said that in order to open up the bypass to address the increased traffic flow during the Christmas week, these measures were not implemented.
He demanded that these measures be implemented as soon as possible so that there are no more accidents in this last week of 2024, and then in the New Year as well.
Viegas added that they had raised concerns about the flaws in the bypass design for years, including in the Assembly, but the government seemed unconcerned. He expressed fears about the consequences during the monsoon period, given that the Tolleabandh area in Benaulim had experienced consecutive flooding over the past few years. The situation could worsen now that the low-lying areas have been filled up for the bypass construction, which has also led to the filling up of traditional rainwater catchment areas.
