Mumbai, Aug. 25 -- Traffic on the Mumbai-Goa Highway (NH 66) has surged manifold ahead of the Ganesh festival that starts on Wednesday, as thousands from Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and neighbouring areas travel to their hometowns in the Konkan region. This has led to traffic jams stretching several kilometres at multiple places along the highway. To cater to the rush, the state government has arranged special trains and deployed around 1,000 additional state transport (ST) buses. Yet, private vehicles dominate the highway. The project to transform the old, two-lane Mumbai-Goa highway into a four-lane expressway began in 2011. However, as HT has previously reported, the construction has faced inordinate delays even as motorists are forced to either manoeuvre the cratered roads or take detours along service roads and bypasses. P5...