After 600cr highway overhaul, safety fix for Mistry accident site
Vasai: The accident site where former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry lost his life will now be marked as a 'go-slow and no-overtaking zone' -- measures being proposed only after the completion of a Rs600 crore white-topping project on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway (NH48).
Ironically, this high-risk stretch -- known to locals as a "black spot" -- was already notorious for its hazardous design. It lies near Charoti flyover, where three highway lanes suddenly merge into a two-lane bridge over the Surya river in just 500 metres. Despite the obvious risk, no safety modifications were made during the highway overhaul.
These observations have now been flagged by third-party safety auditor Geo Designs & Research, appointed by NHAI after public pressure mounted following multiple fatal accidents, including Mistry's.
The safety audit only came after activist Mayur Thakur from Bhumiputra Sanghatna went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding urgent scrutiny of NH48.
"We've submitted the audit report to the Palghar collector and are finalising cost estimates for implementing the corrective measures," said Suhash Chitnis, NHAI project director. He acknowledged that the audit was initiated by NHAI following demands from the activists.
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But the timing has sparked outrage. "Why was Rs 600 crore spent on the road without first fixing known design flaws?" questioned activist Harbans Singh Nanade. "What were the NHAI engineers doing while fatal crashes kept happening? Now, after public protests and preventable deaths, we're back to square one with fresh estimates and retroactive fixes."
Thakur, who led the hunger strike, expressed disbelief: "NHAI always claimed the highway was safe.
Now suddenly, two new black spots have been identified and by an external auditor, not NHAI itself. This just proves that the agency failed to act when it mattered most."
The audit report recommends not only go-slow markings and no-overtaking signs, but also metal crash barriers, rumblers, and other measures to curb speeding -- steps that could have been integrated into the white-topping project from the beginning.
Activists argue that had these recommendations been acted upon proactively, taxpayers' money could have been better spent, lives could have been saved, and public trust in infrastructure agencies might not have eroded so deeply.
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