Speed limit cut, ring road DPR fast-tracked after truck rams into 20 vehicles

The decisions were taken at a review meeting chaired by Union minister of state for civil aviation and transport Murlidhar Mohol at the VVIP guest house.

Pune: Two days after the accident near Pune’s Navale Bridge in Maharashtra that killed eight people, the administration on Saturday decided to reduce the speed limit on the accident-prone stretch to 30 km per hour and expedite preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed Jambhulwadi–Warje ring road.

Speed limit cut, ring road DPR fast-tracked after truck rams into 20 vehicles

The decisions were taken at a review meeting chaired by Union minister of state for civil aviation and transport Murlidhar Mohol at the VVIP guest house.

This was the second such meeting after a container truck travelling from Satara to Mumbai reportedly lost control and rammed into more than 20 vehicles, setting off a chain collision along the Mumbai–Bengaluru Highway in Pune on Thursday evening, killing eight people and injuring 15 others.

“The Jambhulwadi–Warje ring road DPR being prepared by PMRDA (Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority) must be fast-tracked. He added that the DPR for the elevated corridor has been completed and would soon be placed before the state cabinet for approval,” Mohol said.

The meeting was attended by MLA Bhimrao Tapkir, divisional commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar, police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, PMRDA commissioner Yogesh Mhase, senior police officers, and officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Public Works Department (PWD), Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd. (PMPML), and Regional Transport Office (RTO).

Mohol directed NHAI officials to speed up work on the service roads and underpasses between Jambhulwadi and Ravet, complete land acquisition without delay, and asked the Centre to follow up on pending approvals for widening Vadgaon Bridge.

The minister also ordered that the number of speed guns on the stretch be increased from three to six, and that the speed limit be reduced from 60 kmph to 30 kmph.

“High speed is among the major reasons for accidents in Navale bridge stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway. It needs to be further reduced to 30 km per hour and a strict monitoring of it through speed guns is required so that there is no violation of the new norm,” Mohol said.

The RTO has been told to inspect heavy vehicles for overloading, brake failures, and other technical issues at the Khed-Shivapur toll plaza. Violators will be penalised at the next toll gate, Mohol added.

Authorities were also instructed to increase reflectors along the road, create designated PMPML bus bays to avoid crowding, and convene a meeting of the district road safety committee to finalise short-term and long-term measures.

Mohol directed the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, as well as PMRDA, to immediately remove encroachments along service roads and work on easing traffic congestion in the city.

A follow-up review on Saturday’s directives will be held in December.

Police commissioner Kumar said the police have already begun traffic and crowd-control measures and will step up action against speeding vehicles. Municipal Commissioner Ram said the civic body has intensified the drive to clear encroachments and will push ongoing service road works.

PMRDA commissioner Mhase said PMRDA will accelerate work on the ring road DPR and service roads.

Police officers also presented a PPT detailing measures required to reduce accidents in the Navale Bridge area.