Pune’s Sinhagad Road residents frustrated over persistent congestion despite new flyovers

With area residents and commuters continuing to face heavy traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, even after the much-anticipated inauguration of two new flyovers on Sinhagad Road, there is growing dissatisfaction among the former who are now criticising the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune traffic police for poor planning and mismanagement.

Among the new flyovers, the one from Rajaram Bridge to Fun Time Multiplex operational since May 1, was expected to bypass five major junctions and thereby significantly ease traffic. However, it has merely shifted the congestion to the signal under Wadgaon Bridge where traffic is now getting gridlocked due to inadequate road infrastructure and signal timing issues.

Rajesh Jadhav, a resident of Hingne and daily commuter, said, “We were hopeful that the new flyovers would finally resolve the congestion issue. But what we see now is only partial improvement. The problem has just shifted a few metres down the road. It’s disappointing that the authorities did not foresee the impact on the Wadgaon junction.”

The situation is similar with the other new flyover over Rajaram Bridge Chowk on Sinhagad Road as traffic congestion continues to plague the area during peak hours. It is especially troublesome for commuters headed towards Erandwane as the current road layout offers minimal space for vehicles turning right onto Rajaram Bridge, resulting in logjams and serpentine queues. This flyover, inaugurated earlier this year with the aim of decongesting one of the city’s busiest corridors, was intended to streamline the movement of vehicles between Parvati, Sinhagad Rod and Fun Time Chowk. According to local commuters and traffic experts however, the flyover fails to address one of the most pressing issues namely vehicles needing to turn right from the flyover towards Erandwane via Rajaram Bridge.

Atul Namekar, secretary, Sinhagad Road-Warje Residents’ Association, said, “At present, the lane dedicated for right-turning vehicles from Sinhagad Road towards Erandwane is severely narrow. During rush hours, particularly between 8.30 am and 11 am and 5.30 pm and 9 pm, vehicles pile up along the stretch spilling into the main carriageway and obstructing traffic. The problem is compounded by the lack of a dedicated signal cycle for the right turn and the absence of a holding bay or additional turning lanes. This leads to traffic tailbacks stretching several hundred metres, especially on weekday mornings when school, office, and commercial traffic peak simultaneously.”

Ashwini Kulkarni, a daily commuter and resident of Dattawadi, said, “Every morning, it’s the same chaos. Even though there is a flyover now, the right turn towards Erandwane is so poorly managed that vehicles get stuck for 15 to 20 minutes just trying to make the turn. The design doesn’t accommodate the actual traffic volume. There is no channelising and the road narrows dangerously at the junction.”

Additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil who visited the site on Saturday said, “To prevent traffic congestion on the newly constructed Narveer Tanaji Malusare (Sinhagad Road) flyover, we will need to implement some fundamental changes including modifying the signal timings at the Wadgaon Bridge junction. We have already informed the municipal administration about the necessary measures, and we expect swift action.”

During his inspection, Patil also pointed out that a traffic police outpost located under Wadgaon Bridge is obstructing one of the lanes, further worsening the situation. “There are four to five ‘bottlenecks’ in this area which we have brought to the attention of the municipal authorities. We are considering relocating the traffic outpost to ease obstruction,” Patil said.

To address these concerns, the police plan to revise signal timings, increase the number of traffic personnel deployed during peak hours, and remove existing bottlenecks around Wadgaon Bridge.