In a surprising turnaround, the Public Works Department (PWD) has had to dismantle the newly installed height barriers on the Shaheed Gowari Flyover just three days after their installation, following seven accidents involving heavy vehicles.
The iron barriers, each weighing nearly two tonnes, were meant to limit heavy vehicle access to the aging flyover as a long-term safety measure. However, they quickly became accident-prone structures. Between Monday night and Thursday evening, five vehicles crashed into the barriers at the Zero Mile end and two at the Rahate Colony side, leaving them severely damaged and unusable.
With the barriers removed, the decades-old Shaheed Gowari Flyover—also known as the Sitabuldi Flyover—is once again vulnerable to damage from overloaded vehicles. The decision to dismantle the barriers came after two back-to-back collisions: a cement mixer hit the structure on Wednesday night, followed by a bus crash on Thursday evening.
This is the second failed effort to safeguard the flyover in under a year. In August 2023, the PWD installed barriers worth ₹15 lakh, which were damaged within days. Hoping to fix the issue, authorities installed a stronger version this week, spending another ₹25 lakh. The outcome: ₹40 lakh of public money gone, with nothing left but twisted metal— all within nine months.
A PWD official, clearly frustrated, placed part of the blame on the Nagpur City traffic police. “There should have been a 24/7 traffic checkpoint at both ends of the flyover, at least for a month, to familiarize drivers with the restriction. But the traffic department refused to cooperate, citing internal constraints,” he said.
Even though seven incidents were reported, only two FIRs have been filed—one each at Bajaj Nagar and Sitabuldi police stations—for damage to public property. The lack of proper action and coordination between civic and police departments has raised serious concerns about accountability.
What was meant to improve safety has instead turned into a clear case of poor planning, weak execution, and no follow-up. As of now, the Gowari Flyover is back to square one—open and at risk from the very danger the barriers were supposed to stop.
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