Pune: Regular commuters on the busy Katraj-Kondhwa Road are unhappy as the widening work of the stretch has been dragging interminably, leading to daily traffic jams . The widening work has been underway for a while now ahead of Katraj Chowk towards Khadi Machine Chowk. However, according to road users, the entire stretch has been rendered unusable for them due to the bad condition of the road surface at multiple locations, besides the reduced carriageway width to accommodate barricading for the works.
The road-widening project was started by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) five years ago and is still unfinished, rued citizens. Local residents said that the situation has become more challenging during the monsoon as the stretch has been witnessing traffic jams almost every day. Even ambulances are unable to find a way, they told TOI.
Officials from the PMC road department on Wednesday held inspections of the stretch to discuss the redressal measures. They said they are now planning to divert traffic in some stretches, which will help improve the flow of vehicles. They also plan to push for the work to be finished on a priority basis at a couple of bottleneck points.
According to local resident Mahesh Kadam, a stretch near Shatrunjay Mandir Chowk has become a particular hotspot for congestion. “We want the administration to finish the work so that vehicles will be able to travel without halting,” Kadam said. An official from the PMC road department, choosing anonymity, sa.