Mumbai: The Sion-Panvel Highway will be restricted for seven hours, from 11 PM to 6 AM, from Thursday, March 7, to Friday, March 8. This restriction is necessary to conduct repair work on the Sanpada foot overbridge (FOB), which was damaged in an accident last month.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has informed the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and the traffic police about the upcoming traffic restrictions. To accommodate the repairs, vehicles travelling from Vashi towards Panvel will be diverted to Palm Beach Road before rejoining the Sion-Panvel highway.

The foot over-bridge was damaged many times when a truck collided with it in the early hours of February 2, between 2-3 am, causing damage to its steel structure and railings. A formal inspection by PWD engineers on February 9 revealed that several sections of the bridge had been broken. Following the incident, pedestrian access to the bridge was suspended, as the authorities deemed the structure a safety risk.

NMMC official said that “The FOB poses a risk to citizens, and repair work is stated to be essential to ensure public safety,” as per report by Hindustan Times.

In January, a tragic incident occurred on the Sion-Panvel Highway when a speeding Honda City, travelling from Panvel toward Mumbai, collided with two stationary auto-rickshaws parked by the roadside.

The accident took place in the early hours of Wednesday near the Juinagar railway station and resulted in the death of a sleeping rickshaw driver. Both rickshaws were severely damaged. The Nerul Police have arrested the driver of the Honda City and filed a case against him.