The mishap that claimed the lives of the mother-in-law and cousin of Thane Commissioner of Police Bhujangrao Mohite is being attributed to the unusual smoothness of the by-pass. Important highways like NH-3, Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway (NH-4) and the Mumbai-Pune road which wind through Thane have seen a deadly rise in the number of accidents (see box). Between January 1 and October 31 this year, there have been 2,131 accidents, which killed 462 and left 822 injured.

The Thane-Bhiwandi by-pass was among the first roads in the country to be privately built on a build operate lease and transfer (BOLT) basis by the Dombivli-based Ideal Road builders. ``This road can be used as a model to show how a road must be built and maintained,'' said Shaju Devassy, asoftware trader who uses this road to travel to Mumbai from Kalyan every day.

Regular maintainance of the road has made it a favourite with motorists and truck drivers for revving up the engine. ``The lack of curves on this road provides 100 percent visibility, which eggs on the driver to throw caution to the winds and speed,'' said Additional CP Sridhar Wagal.

A danger stretch is the 255 metre Diva-Mankoli section, where, said Wagal, ``Speeding causes a safety hazard because the road is too narrow.'' Putting up rumbler strips at regular intervals on the road could control speeding and reduce accidents, he suggested.

However, officials at the National Highway Authority counter that the NH-4 has a much worse track record. ``Our guidelines prevent us from putting up rumbler strips on national highways in uninhabited areas, and our suggestions to this effect have not evoked any response from the Centre,'' said a senior official.

The official also pointed out a proposal to make the NH-3 a four-lanehighway from the existing two-lane was awaiting a nod from the Centre. ``After accepting the proposal last year, the Centre is yet to allocate any funds,'' he said.