November 19, 2025: Traffic along Thane’s Ghodbunder Road was thrown into chaos on Tuesday after a crane involved in Metro Line 4 construction broke down near the Tatvagyan Vidyapeeth junction early in the morning. The malfunction, which occurred around 5 am, caused traffic to crawl for more than 12 hours and led to massive congestion stretching from the university area to Majiwada.
According to traffic officials, the crane, deployed for rail-joining work on the Wadala–Ghatkopar–Kasarvadavali Metro 4 corridor, suddenly stalled on the Thane-to-Ghodbunder carriageway. Despite continuous efforts by the traffic police and MMRDA teams, the crane remained stuck until after 6.30 pm, leaving a key arterial stretch partially blocked for most of the day.
The breakdown created long vehicular queues extending from Majiwada to Ghodbunder, severely impacting motorists travelling towards Kolshet, Dhokali, Kalher, Kasheli, Hiranandani Meadows, and neighbouring areas. Thousands of commuters returning home in the evening peak hours were caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic, with many reporting delays stretching well beyond an hour.
To tackle the gridlock, Thane Traffic Police implemented multiple diversions, routing vehicles from Thane towards Ghodbunder via Ravi Steel Naka, Gandhinagar Junction, Vasant Vihar, Kashinath Ghanekar Chowk, Khewra, Kapurbawdi, Kolshet, and the Dhokali–Brahmand corridor. However, the diversions only redistributed the load, resulting in heavy congestion on several internal roads as well.
Officials stated that normal traffic movement would resume once the crane was fully removed and the construction machinery at the site reorganised. The incident has once again highlighted the need for strengthened traffic management measures around ongoing metro construction zones, especially along critical routes like Ghodbunder Road.
Source: The Times of India
