E-Paper
PMC clears ₹203 crore plan to upgrade Chandani Chowk-Bhugaon corridor
Pune Municipal Corporation approves ₹203 crore upgrade for Chandani Chowk-Bhugaon corridor to ease congestion, including a flyover and bridge.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved a ₹203 crore plan to upgrade the Chandani Chowk-Bhugaon corridor, a key entry route for commuters arriving from the Konkan region. The project includes a flyover and a grade separator aimed at easing chronic congestion along the western approach to the city.
Prithviraj B P, additional municipal commissioner, said, “The flyover and grade separator will ease congestion. The project includes a two-kilometre flyover and a 30-metre-long, 70-metre-wide bridge over the Ram Nadi. Traffic delays at the river crossing will reduce. Work will begin once 80% land acquisition is completed.”
While the proposed construction comes barely two years after the Centre spent ₹800 crore on constructing a multilevel flyover, tenders for the new work will be floated once 80% of the land has been acquired.
The PMC has already widened roads near Chandani Chowk, the city’s main western gateway. The civic limits extend about two kilometres towards Bhugaon, where the development plan (DP) earmarks a 60-metre road. Beyond this lies the proposed Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) Ring Road that will connect to the national highway. Officials said the proposed structures will help streamline traffic flow along this busy stretch. The work will be executed by the PMC’s project department.
Rapid urbanisation in the area has pushed the population close to 90,000, with projections that it may reach three lakhs in the coming years. Rising traffic volumes have prompted the PMC to fast-track the proposal, said Dinkar Gojare, chief engineer of the project department. The estimate committee cleared the project cost on Monday. Private land acquisition will be needed, and tenders will be issued only after most of the land is secured, he said.
