E-Paper
Pune-Solapur flyover likely to reopen on March 20
The flyover would resume traffic, on one lane, Pune towards Solapur, for light vehicles, two-wheelers, cars and vehicles less than 3 metres in height
PUNE The heavy traffic on the Pune-Solapur highway at Hadapsar would ease from Sunday (March 20) as Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) plans to reopen the flyover for public, first for light weight vehicles and heavy-duty vehicle traffic after one month.
The flyover has been shut since February 9 after local representatives complained of damage to a portion of the flyover. The Pune-Solapur highway is one of the most congested roads in the city as heavy vehicles use the stretch to pass through the city. The road is undergoing final repairs and the flyover is expected to be used for public, on one lane from Sunday, according to a civic official.
The flyover would resume traffic, on one lane, Pune towards Solapur, for light vehicles, two-wheelers, cars and vehicles less than 3 metres in height.
Shrinivas Bonala, chief engineer and head, PMC projects department, said, “If all goes as per plan, we should be able to reopen the flyover for light vehicles for one-sided traffic starting from March 20 (Sunday). The concretisation work was done on Wednesday and it takes about seven days for the concrete to reach about 75% of its strength. So, we would be able to reopen the flyover for one-sided traffic for only lightweight vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles after a month.”
“The flyover was undergoing repairs since February 6 when the flyover was shut after local councillors found spot that needed major repairs. The work to fix the bearings is expected to be finished by Friday night. While lowering the bearings on its base, we need to fix minute details if there is any change in the level,” he said. Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) had handed over the flyover to PMC in 2006.
A senior MSRDC official said, “The flyover was built by us and handed over to PMC about 16 years ago. The defect liability period for the flyover was about five years. In the past few years, PMC did make certain alterations in the flyover which could have increased the traffic load on the flyover. However, over time, the flyover needs maintenance and the civic body is working on repairing it and maintaining the structure.”
The additional structure of the flyover is the Sant Tukaram Maharaj flyover which is an extended arm of the flyover towards Saswad road. This arm was added later to the old structure to reduce traffic flow towards the Hadapsar Gadital.
Bonala said that the damaged portion is far away from the additional extended arm and has nothing to do with damaging the structure.
“Both the flyovers are working independently and are not connected. The repairs are carried out after taking suggestions from MSRDC, College of Engineering Pune (COEP) and Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay) based on the drawings we received from MSRDC,” said Bonala.
