Residents demand alternate plan before demolition of Sadhu Vaswani flyover

The new traffic plan is expected to be presented within the next two to three days, according to civic officials

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and city traffic police are working together to assess an alternate traffic strategy before demolishing the Sadhu Vaswani flyover, which connects Kalyaninagar-Koregaon Park routes to the Pune Cantonment area. The new traffic plan is expected to be presented within the next two to three days, according to civic officials, as residents express confusion about how to navigate the traffic.

Since the existing flyover is outdated and no longer handles the traffic problems here, PMC shelved plans to repair it and later decided to demolish and replace it with a new structure. (HT PHOTO)

The civic authorities plan to demolish the 50-year-old Sadhu Vaswani flyover which connects the circuit house. Work will be challenging on the ground since the flyover crosses a railway line, according to PMC officials.

Srinivas Bonala in charge of this project said, “PMC conducted three meetings with traffic police, and the police were requested to prepare an alternate traffic plan. The traffic changes will be announced soon. We will ensure that the PMC will not start the demolition and construction work of the new flyover before conducting the trials of the new traffic plan. After getting the ground experience, PMC and traffic police will make necessary changes so citizens would not be inconvenienced.”

The estimate committee of PMC on Tuesday gave the nod to demolish the 640-metre-long and 6.90-metre-wide bridge, currently closed for heavy vehicles. The civic body plans to build a new bridge estimated to be built at the cost of ₹70 crores.

Bonala said, “Earlier the PMC planned to strengthen the existing flyover but as it was not feasible, the civic body now will construct a new four-lane flyover. All the necessary approvals for the project are in and the bridge is expected to be ready within two years after the commencement of the work.”

Satish Arora, a resident of Koregaon Park said, “This is a crucial flyover for the Kalyaninagar and Koregaon Park residents. Most of the school children from the area go to various schools in the Pune Camp area and use this flyover. Once the work starts, it will be difficult to find an alternative route. PMC and traffic police must evaluate other options before starting the work.”

Since the existing flyover is outdated and no longer handles the traffic problems here, PMC shelved plans to repair it and later decided to demolish and replace it with a new structure.

Shreya Gupta from Kalyaninagar said, “I am working with an IT company and use this flyover daily. We are confused about the traffic situation after the bridge is demolished.”

A senior traffic police officer on condition of anonymity said, “It is very challenging work as a railway line runs through the area. Another difficulty is that this bridge serves as the access road for VIPs staying at Circuit House. The Koregaon Park and Kalyaninagar areas house many high-ranked government and defence personnel. If there is traffic congestion, complaints will be filed right away.”