Pune: The standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) recently approved a flyover project at the Mahatma Phule Chowk that will come as a relief to commuters and residents suffering from intense traffic snarls in the Keshavnagar, Mundhwa, Hadapsar and Manjari areas.People have been holding agitations over the last two years over the demand, which has been pending for long. They said the roads converging at the spot are close to the Solapur highway and used by heavy vehicles. The stretches are perennially busy.Residents said a PIL was also filed against the civic administration to raise concerns about the problem. This and the protests finally made the PMC look at the urgent need for a flyover to resolve the bottleneck at the intersection. Commuters said there are frequent traffic jams at the spot, especially for those travelling from Magarpatta towards Kharadi via Mundhwa and from Ghorpadi and Koregaon Park towards Keshavnagar and Manjari.The traffic volume in Mundhwa, Magarpatta, Keshavnagar, Manjari and Kharadi have increased exponentially due to the high density of IT companies and rapid urbanisation in the vicinity. Furthermore, the Hadapsar-Kharadi Bypass serves as a vital link connecting the Solapur highway and the Ahilyanagar highway.Sandeep Lonkar, who filed the PIL, told TOI: “It is imperative that PMC prioritises the widening of the road and constructs a subway or flyover at the junction, as required, given the massive growth. The administration should also ensure it provides alternative roads once the construction starts following the proposal’s approval.”A senior PMC official said, “The process — like the general body’s approval and floating of tender — will be completed before the work commences.”Additonally, the proposed 24m bridge, as approved by the standing commiittee, near Sasanenagar will also help bring down the problem of traffic in Hadapsar. The proposal said the existing bridges over the new canal on the main road connecting Pune peth areas, Hadapsar and Sasanenagar were originally constructed at three different levels. One of these bridges has become dangerous and the road department has issued a work order to a contractor for its reconstruction.However, to reduce accidents caused by the steep gradients (ascents and descents) at the location, there is a proposal to remove all the old, dilapidated bridges and construct a single, unified bridge as per the development plan, the proposal said.“The new facility will resolve multiple issues. The key issues of traffic jams and accidents will be dealt with after the new unified bridge is built,” said Vaishali Bankar, an area corporator.
