The reinstallation of height barriers on both ends of Shahid Gowari Flyover is in limbo as the Public Works Department (PWD) appeared indecisive on the path forward. The repeated destruction of height barriers of the flyover either highlights a significant civic and enforcement failure or a deliberate act by truck drivers. Despite all that, the sufferers are the citizens as the flyover witnessed many accidents in past. Reinstalled just days earlier under a Bombay High Court directive to restrict entry of heavy vehicles, the latest set of barriers, erected on December 3, failed to survive even for 10 days. When questioned about repairing the recently damaged structure, Krusha Gharde, Executive Engineer, World Bank Division, PWD, stated, “There is no further decision whether the height barrier should be repaired or not, the decision will come only after a meeting with the officials.” She previously suggested the damage would continue ‘till the public understands its responsibility’.

 

When asked regarding the future of the barriers, Gharde said, “Since the barriers have been erected, the people have made it a point to damage it again and again. We don’t have the funds to repair the barriers again and again. Despite the warning signs, some truck drivers repeatedly collide with the barriers”. Citizens suggest that without strict physical and regulatory checks, barriers will continue to fall, public money will continue to drain and the flyover’s life will shorten. The structure on the Rahate Colony end, which briefly survived an initial truck collision on December 5, was struck again by a heavy vehicle late Thursday night (December 11) and received a final damaging blow on Friday morning.

 

The PWD was compelled to remove the barrier later that day, prioritising safe public transport over attempting to maintain the damaged structure. This pattern is not new; the same Rahate Colony end saw its barrier destroyed twice within 12 hours in June. This time, the PWD along with police department, had taken comprehensive precautions, including installing speed-breakers, reflective paint and rumbling strips. Despite these measures, the barriers still failed. The financial cost of this repeated damage is substantial and comes from the taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Worse, the resumption of heavy vehicle traffic after the barriers removal accelerates the flyover’s deterioration, reducing its lifespan. This recurrence points not to an engineering flaw, but a persistent enforcement deficit and lack of understanding in some citizens of the basic civic sense. Authorities are urged to install physical barricades that only permit smaller vehicles to pass, rather than leaving expensive structures vulnerable to repetitive destruction. 

 

 

 In both incidents, in which speeding trucks hit the height barriers on the Morris College T-point side and at Rahate Colony Square, the Sitabuldi Police and Dhantoli Police have registered cases against the truck drivers. They have been charged with rash driving and under the Damage to Public Property Act. Under the Damage to Public Property Act, the court can order recovery of the damages caused by the truck drivers, police officials said.