Trailer rams into Kings Circle railway bridge: Peak hour traffic between Dadar, Sion affected

Peak hour traffic between Sion and Dadar was affected on Tuesday morning after a container rammed into the Kings Circle railway bridge during the wee hours.

The cargo container got stuck under the Harbour line railway bridge at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar road, between Sion flyover and Kings Circle flyover, when the driver entered the south-bound lane reserved for smaller vehicles.

There are two lanes on the south-bound highway. Heavy vehicles can only use the one of the left due to a height restriction placed ahead of the railway bridge.

The road, next to Mahatma Gandhi market, has witnessed countless such incidents over the years as drivers either misread or completely ignore the height restriction.

Traffic police officials were present on the spot since early morning to direct the traffic and oncoming vehicles were diverted via Anik Road, Dharavi and Tulsi Pipe road.

However, the complete blockage of one lane led to a massive traffic snarl extending all the way from Sion to Dadar. At its peak around 9:30 am, the queues were a few km long, extending from Chembur on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) till Parel.

The multi-axle vehicle was finally cleared around 10:30 am, following which traffic on the route started clearing.

As of publishing this report, traffic on the south bound lane towards Dadar has returned to normalcy. Traffic towards Sion, however, is still affected.

Although the mishap did not result in any casualties, the driver was arrested and subsequently sent for medical examination to ascertain if he was driving under the influence.

The incident comes barely five days after another trailer had got stuck under the bridge around midnight. The driver of the trailer was allegedly drunk at the time and fled the scene after the mishap.

The vehicle was removed early morning and did not result in any major chaos.