The groundwork for the much-awaited Pune Ring Road project has commenced. The contract for the 24.5 km stretch connecting Pune-Nagar Road and Solapur Highway has been awarded to Roadway Solution India Infra Ltd, which has already set up its operations in Wadebolai village near Kesnand.
On Monday, a traditional puja was conducted, and the project was inaugurated by the company officials, local politicians and villagers. More than 100 excavators and machinery have been deployed to ensure rapid progress on this Eastern Phase of the Ring Road.
The Maharashtra Government in October this year approved an escalation of ₹20,375.21 crore for the construction of the Ring Road, taking the total project cost to ₹42,711.03 crore.
According to the cabinet note, the Pune Ring Road (East) runs from Urse (Mumbai – Pune Expressway) to Solu (Alandi-Markal Road) and from Solu to Sortapwadi (Pune-Solapur Road). The cost of this 68.19 km long road was estimated at ₹10,159.82 crore in September 2021. However, the total length of the project has been revised to 72.335 km, and the total cost has been increased to ₹19,932.98 crore.
The Pune Ring Road (West) runs from Urse (Mumbai – Pune Expressway) to Varve Budruk (Satara Road). In September 2021, the cost of this leg of the project was estimated at ₹12,176 crore. Later, the cost was increased to ₹22,778.05 crore.
Reportedly, the cost escalation is due to various reasons, such as the inclusion of a few additional state-of-the-art technologies and changing specifications.
The project includes eight tunnels, three small bridges, two large bridges and a half-km bridge across Khadakwasla dam's backwaters.
Once complete, the Ring Road will massively help in decongesting Pune city by redirecting heavy vehicles and enhancing connectivity with inter-district highways.
The road is slated to cover a total of 83 villages.
