While Punekars continue to struggle with traffic congestion issues in the city, the Metro project is helping people travel from Pimpri Chinchwad to Pune, allowing them to reach their destination in just 35 minutes—a journey that otherwise takes 1.5 to 2 hours. Now, another road project expected to be a boon for city traffic is the Pune Ring Road Project. This project is one of the most anticipated, as it is expected to resolve the issue of heavy vehicular traffic and reduce congestion in Pune city.
Recently, the Maharashtra cabinet approved an escalation of ₹20,375.21 crore for the Pune Ring Road project, bringing the total project cost to ₹42,711.03 crore. This increase comes just three years after the initial project estimation, despite construction yet to commence.
The PMRDA was appointed as the development authority for the project in 2016 with the expectation of diverting heavy vehicular traffic and reducing congestion in Pune city. It was also expected to speed up the development of the suburbs.
Details about the project
Project Segments: The project consists of two main segments: East and West.
Route: Extends from Urse (on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway) to Solu (along the Alandi-Markal road), then from Solu to Sortapwadi (on the Pune-Solapur road).
Initial Length: Estimated at 68.19 km as of September 2021.
Revised Length: Increased to 72.335 km after the recent cabinet meeting.
Initial Cost: ₹10,159.82 crore in September 2021.
Revised Cost: New estimated cost is ₹19,932.98 crore.
Route: Connects Urse (Mumbai-Pune Expressway) to Varve Budruk (on the Satara road).
Initial Cost: Estimated at ₹12,176 crore in September 2021.
Revised Cost: Increased to ₹22,778.05 crore.
There will be ten tunnels in the project and parallel flyovers. It will reduce travel time from the Pune-Mumbai Expressway to Nashik, Solapur, Satara, Ahmednagar, and Aurangabad by at least 1.5 hours.
