With the much-delayed expansion of the Mutha river bridge between Warje and Vadgaon continuing to be carried out by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), severe traffic congestion brought vehicular movement on the bridge almost to a standstill on Sunday, leaving thousands of citizens stranded for hours on end. Narrowing of the carriageway due to the ongoing construction coupled with heavy weekend traffic resulted in long queues of vehicles stretching for several kilometres on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway. Traffic moved at a crawl and several commuters travelling towards Katraj, Mumbai and other parts of Pune city reported delays of over 30 minutes.
The Mutha river bridge between Warje and Vadgaon is being expanded to increase the capacity of the highway which carries nearly 60,000 to 70,000 vehicles every day, including private vehicles, state transport buses, tourist coaches and heavy commercial vehicles. While one carriageway of the widened bridge has already been opened for traffic headed towards Satara, the other carriageway that will cater to vehicles headed towards Mumbai is still under construction. As a result, commuters continue to face severe congestion due to restricted lane movement, temporary traffic diversions and the narrowing of the carriageway near the construction site. On Sunday, traffic police were deployed at key junctions to regulate the heavy flow, but the volume of vehicles far exceeded the available road capacity. Whereas the widened bridge will offer additional lanes, better traffic segregation, and improved lane discipline, significantly increasing the corridor’s carrying capacity and reducing congestion.
A senior NHAI official on condition of anonymity said, “The remaining portion of the Mutha river bridge is in the final stage of construction, and our teams are working on priority to complete the remaining work at the earliest. Executing such a project while ensuring uninterrupted traffic movement on one of Pune’s busiest highway stretches is extremely challenging, but substantial progress has already been achieved. The first carriageway has demonstrated a noticeable improvement in traffic movement towards Satara, and once the second side becomes operational, vehicles travelling towards Mumbai will also experience smoother and safer movement. We are also planning additional traffic management measures, including improved road markings, signage, strengthening of service roads, and lane discipline systems, to ensure seamless movement and enhance road safety across the corridor.”
{{/usCountry}}A senior NHAI official on condition of anonymity said, “The remaining portion of the Mutha river bridge is in the final stage of construction, and our teams are working on priority to complete the remaining work at the earliest. Executing such a project while ensuring uninterrupted traffic movement on one of Pune’s busiest highway stretches is extremely challenging, but substantial progress has already been achieved. The first carriageway has demonstrated a noticeable improvement in traffic movement towards Satara, and once the second side becomes operational, vehicles travelling towards Mumbai will also experience smoother and safer movement. We are also planning additional traffic management measures, including improved road markings, signage, strengthening of service roads, and lane discipline systems, to ensure seamless movement and enhance road safety across the corridor.”
{{/usCountry}}Prashant Hundari, a regular commuter travelling between Pune city and Katraj said, “Even on a Sunday, it took me nearly 40 minutes to cross the Warje stretch because vehicles had to merge into fewer lanes near the construction zone. The first side of the bridge has certainly helped traffic towards Satara, but unless the remaining portion is opened quickly, commuters heading towards Mumbai and Katraj will continue to suffer. We hope that the authorities complete the work without any further delay.”
Another commuter, Snehal Dhotre, who was travelling from Bavdhan towards Katraj with her family, said, “The traffic suddenly came to a standstill near Warje and there was hardly any movement for a long time. Weekend traffic is usually heavy, but the bottleneck created by the ongoing construction makes the situation much worse. The bridge expansion is definitely necessary, but it should now be completed as early as possible so that thousands of daily commuters are not forced to spend so much time and are stuck in traffic every day.”