Pune: Traffic restrictions in place to assist ongoing work on the Sadhu Vaswani Bridge have left hundreds of commuters frustrated on a daily basis.
Those affected regularly travel through areas like Bund Garden Road, Wadia College Chowk and Mangaldas Road, and say the traffic chaos during rush hours is unmanageable.
Unhappy with the diversions, motorists are demanding that work be expedited to give them some relief. They also want deployment of additional traffic wardens at key junctions in the zone and stricter action against those violating road rules, such as jumping traffic lights and wrong-side driving. This, said commuters, will hopefully help streamline traffic.
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) began demolishing the old Sadhu Vaswani Bridge and constructing a new one in April 2024. The latter was expected to be ready by 2026.
At present, despite the time gone by, citizens pointed out that the civic administration is yet to demolish the bridge completely. But civic officials said the demolition is taking time as many technical aspects are involved, including permission from the railway administration.
Travellers countered that it is taking too long. Manish Deo, who recently spent more than 15 minutes stuck in traffic diversions just to cross Wadia College, said, “PMC needs to prioritise this work. With two months left for the monsoon, it is highly unlikely traffic will be streamlined here before then. The civic body should come out with a proper plan.”
Similarly, commuter Aashish Shah, said, “A stretch of Bund Garden Road and two chowks in the Wadia College area face maximum traffic chaos, mainly because of the absence of alternative routes. PMC should avoid digging roads, at least on busy stretches in the area.”
Meanwhile, the traffic police department claimed wardens have been deployed to keep vehicles moving in the area, while barricades are fixed to restrict wrong-side driving. A traffic police officer told TOI, “Traffic flow slows down mainly because of vehicles halting on roadsides or near chowks. We have asked wardens on duty to restrict such halting of private and commercial vehicles on the diversion routes.”
Demolition of 12 girders to begin
PMC officials on Tuesday said the project work will gain momentum in coming days as the actual demolition of 12 girders of the old bridge is set to begin from Wednesday.
“We are starting the demolition of a key portion of the old bridge, which is located exactly above the railway tracks,” an official said.
The demolition work is expected to be completed in 15 days. PMC plans to remove at least one girder each day. The railway administration has allowed a daily block of two hours for the work.
Removal of girders was the main hurdle in the demolition of the old bridge and the construction of a new one. An official from PMC’s projects department said, “Although the demolition of the old bridge has taken more time, the construction of pillars for the new bridge has already started on both ends. The slum dwellers from the old bridge area have also been relocated.”
