Railway block schedule awaited for Sadhu Vaswani overbridge demolition

The overbridge, one of the prime stretches connecting Koregaon Park and Lashkar areas, had become inadequate for the increasing traffic

The demolition of Sadhu Vaswani overbridge, linking Koregaon Park and Lashkar areas, is delayed as the railway authorities are yet to announce its block schedule to raze the part of the stretch near the Pune Cantonment area. The demolition by the civic administration of the part on the Koregaon Park side is nearing completion.

The demolition work had started in July 2023. (HT PHOTO)

The overbridge, one of the prime stretches connecting Koregaon Park and Lashkar areas, had become inadequate for the increasing traffic. To address the issue, a new bridge is planned at the same location.

The demolition work had started in July 2023. According to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), of the total 640-meter length of the bridge, 17 spans from the Koregaon Park side, under the civic limits, have been removed and excavation and foundation work for the new bridge has also started.

Yuvraj Deshmukh, superintendent engineer, PMC project department, said, “We may receive permission from the railway administration after the Diwali festival. They have assured us of a one to two-hour block on different days.”

Arun Kumar Mishra, senior Pune railway official, said, “The head office may give block permission even before Diwali.”

PMC aims to complete the bridge by January 2026. The Central Railway is expected to provide demolition blocks over 52 days.