Pune News: Completion Of 2.5 km Khadki-Bopodi Road Expansion Expected To Complete By October End
Pune News: Completion Of 2.5 km Khadki-Bopodi Road Expansion Expected To Complete By October End
September 12, 2024
Travel time on the heavily trafficked 2.5 km stretch of the old Pune-Mumbai highway, connecting Patil Estate to Khadki-Bopodi, is expected to decrease by at least 10 to 15 minutes starting next month. This improvement is due to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) aiming to finish widening the main carriageway by October. The area, which previously had four lanes, is being expanded to an eight-lane carriageway in response to ongoing traffic jam complaints.
Civic officials mentioned that the main carriageway, with the addition of four new lanes, should be completed by the end of October, although work on the service lanes will continue afterward.
“Once the project is finished, vehicles will have eight lanes available for smoother travel. The delay in widening was caused by some land parcels in the Khadki area that were not under our control. Additionally, Metro construction in Khadki also impacted the project. However, we now have the necessary land for the expansion. Approximately 65% of the work has been completed, and we aim to finish the main construction by the end of October,” stated a senior official from the PMC.
Two-way traffic has been permitted on the Bopodi-Khadki stretch since last August. Regular commuters expressed that the widening project had been overdue, noting that the journey used to be quite exhausting.
Khadki and Bopodi have had significant traffic delays. With the addition of at least two lanes on each side, vehicles will be able to travel more quickly, potentially cutting journey times on this stretch by at least 15 minutes, according to a regular commuter to Nigdi.
The old Pune-Mumbai highway serves as a crucial link between Pune city and the Pimpri Chinchwad area, with hundreds of people commuting daily between Pune and the industrial units in Pimpri Chinchwad-Bhosari via this route. The road section leading up to Harris Bridge in the PCMC area is already wide, featuring six to eight lanes, but the section within PMC limits has been narrow and in need of expansion.
In addition to the road widening, the administration is also building a safety wall along this stretch. PMC has reached out to Maha Metro to expedite the construction of these safety walls in the Khadki area.
Commuters have also called for improvements to traffic flow at the junction near the Khadki police station on the old Pune-Mumbai highway. “There is a heavy influx of vehicles coming from Khadki, Shivajinagar, and the Range Hills area at this junction. The administration should implement measures to reduce waiting times here,” remarked one commuter.
