Work on Swargate flyover to start soon

Finally, construction of the 1.4 km flyover at Keshavrao Jedhe Chowk, Swargate is set to take off next month. The work order of the project was given to a Hyderabad-based construction company.

The Rs155-crore project is designed to ease traffic congestion at Swargate and and make the movement of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) and state transport (ST) buses smooth.

Congress MLC Mohan Joshi, who has been at the forefront to get the project through, said, “Next month, the ground-breaking ceremony of the project will be carried out to start construction of the flyover.”

The flyover will have a two-lane underpass from Shankarsheth Road to Sarasbaug, Joshi said, adding that the move will ease vehicular traffic as the chowk has a PMPML depot, an ST stand, an autorickshaw stand and BRTS routes.

However, Shiv Sena MLA Chandrakant Mokate met municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak on Friday to give him a memorandum of citizens’ signatures regarding developing the riverside road from Shivane to Kharadi and rehabilitation of project-affected Rajput slum dwellers.

The memorandum included signatures of 15,000 citizens. Pathak assured Mokate that work will start within one month.

Mokate told DNA, “The project-affected citizens are ready to surrender their land but there is lethargy on the part of the civic body. So we want to attract the attention of the civic authority towards public woes. If the civic administration fails to initiate road work then we will organise an agitation.”