The work of four-laning of the accident-prone narrow stretch of old Pune-Mumbai highway from Nigdi to Dehu Road has yet to start due to lack of funds.
Vehicular traffic on the stretch was thrown out of gear for several hours on Thursday following a grisly mishap in which one person was killed and two injured, as reported by dna on March 19.
Besides, the work of constructing underpasses and overbridges at various locations on the Pune-Mumbai highway has also not begun due to the funds crunch.
Last year, in May, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) had submitted a Rs190-crore proposal to the Union ministry of road transport and highways for four-laning of the 7-km stretch from Nigdi to Dehu Road. Along with it, a proposal to construct underpasses and
overbridges at various locations on the Pune-Mumbai highway was also sent.
The proposals were approved by the Central ministry and funds sanctioned for the work. However, disbursement of the funds was delayed and the MSRDC could not start the work for the last one year, said a senior MSRDC official.
The seven-km stretch from Nigdi to Dehu Road has become accident-prone. Its width is less than 15 metres, though the highway has a heavy flow of traffic round the clock. Besides, there is no road divider on the stretch.
The stretch passes through the Dehu Road Cantonment Board (DCB ) limits. Several residential colonies of government servants, defence establishments, central schools and residential and commercial establishments are located along the highway.
Dehu Road resident Sandip Begade said, \”The narrow road is the main reason for repeated mishaps on the stretch. Whenever a mishap takes place on this stretch, the traffic comes to a standstill. As a result, Dehu Road residents face commuting problems.”
Rajesh Agrawal, who commutes between Dehu Road and Pune daily said, “Travel on the four-lane stretch from Dapodi to Nigdi is free of hassles, but once you cross Nigdi, the traffic gets clogged on the narrow road. The stretch needs to be widened urgently.”
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