Sus-Pashan overbridge opens for public

BJP MLA Chandrakant Patil along with other Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officers were present for the inauguration

The Sus-Pashan bridge was officially opened for commuters on Friday. BJP MLA Chandrakant Patil along with other Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officers were present for the inauguration.

The Sus-Pashan bridge was officially opened for commuters on Friday. (HT PHOTO)

The bridge will ease traffic movement in the area besides the ramps will provide direct connections to the Katraj-Dehu road bypass. The bridge will also ease traffic towards Hinjewadi and commuters can now pass the bypass without any hiccups.

The civic administration has been working on this bridge for the last two years. This new bridge was proposed as the earlier bridge was proving insufficient to cater to the ever increasing vehicle load. The bridge was demolished in February 2020.

“We have completed the bridge well before its deadline. Residents can of Susgaon, Pashan and Mulshi can now commute with ease on this much wider bridge. The width of the new bridge is 18 metres,” said additional commissioner Kunal Khemnar who was standing in for commissioner Vikram Kumar who is down with dengue.

The work on the bridge began on February 13, 2020 and was completed in 30 months at the cost of ₹41 crore

“This bridge stands on 12 pillars, is 470 metres in length along with the approach roads, 122 metres length of overbridge, 17.2 metres wide with a 4 lane and footpath, built on an open foundation kind of construction,” said Srinivas Bonala, who was incharge of this project.

“This bridge will be beneficial for IT employees going towards Hinjewadi and those coming from Mulshi to the city and will help decongest the national highway,” added Khemnar.

Athough 50 metres of service road on Sus side is still not complete, the PMC assured the residents that it is partly made operational. But residents who had gathered at the opening commented that the service road is still not operational and a hazard.

Vilas Rashinkar, resident of Sus road and member of the Sus Vikas Manch said, “The service road bears most of the traffic brunt and it is still a ‘kaccha’ road which the PMC officials have just put in loose gravel, thus giving us a part of the road for use, but with the rains, most of that gravel is gone leaving us with bad potholed road. They should have completed that road too when they planned to open the bridge.”

Anushka Naniwadkar, another resident added, “The PMC have put up a direction arrow along the new bridge to use the residential road for a ‘U’ turn to reach the national highway. Once the traffic actually begins, it will cause problems for people living in that residential area. The PMC needs to clarify where that road is going towards.”