Pune to Get ₹60,000 Crore Road Projects to Ease Traffic Congestion: Nitin Gadkari
Pune | To address Pune’s growing traffic congestion and pollution, road projects worth a staggering ₹60,000 crore will be undertaken across the city over the next two years, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced.
Speaking at the ‘Festival of Thinkers’ event held at Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Gadkari expressed concern over Pune’s worsening traffic situation, saying that the heavy congestion has made people reluctant to visit the city. He said the projects would be implemented through a special ‘innovative financing model’ involving cooperation between the Central and state governments.
Major Road Projects and Estimated Costs:
- Shirur–Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: ₹15,000 crore (192 km)
- Khed–Nashik Phata Elevated Corridor: ₹8,000 crore (30 km – tendering completed)
- Pune–Shirur Elevated Corridor: ₹7,515 crore (53.40 km)
- Ravet–Narhe Elevated Corridor: ₹6,000 crore (32 km)
- Hadapsar–Yavat Elevated Corridor: ₹5,265 crore (31.65 km)
- Talegaon–Chakan–Shikrapur Road: ₹4,000 crore (54.20 km – work underway)
Focus on Diverting Traffic Outside Pune:
Surat–South India Corridor: Traffic travelling from North India and Gujarat towards South India will be diverted via Surat–Nashik–Ahilyanagar–Solapur, eliminating the need to enter Pune or Mumbai. The route is expected to reduce the Delhi–Chennai travel distance by around 320 km.
Thane–Shilphata Link Road: A new link road is being planned to divert traffic from the Thane region directly towards Ahilyanagar and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
New Mumbai–Pune Expressway: The tender process for the section up to Pagote Chowk has been completed. In the future, the project is expected to make Mumbai–Bengaluru travel possible in just five hours.
