Trial closure of Rajaram Bridge triggers traffic chaos on chaos , police to implement revised diversion plan

Traffic on Sinhagad Road came to a standstill Monday morning after a section of Rajaram Bridge connecting Kothrud and Karvenagar was closed on a trial basis. The sudden closure caused massive logjams, leaving commuters stranded for nearly four hours. Following the chaos, traffic police reopened the bridge to regular traffic and announced that a revised traffic diversion plan will be implemented within a week.

With sudden closure of the bridge, heavy congestion was reported on both the main Sinhagad Road and the alternative canal road with bumper-to-bumper traffic from 8.30 am to 11 am and vehicle queues stretching several kilometres. Many ambulances too were caught in the jam, raising concerns among citizens. Vehicles remained lined up all the way to Dhayari.

Amol Zende, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said, “As per the PMC’s suggestion, we closed Rajaram Bridge for two hours Monday morning between 9 am and 11 am for repair and maintenance work. During this time, we observed heavy congestion on Sinhagad Road. Seeing the situation, we reopened the bridge after 11 am. Now, we will revise the traffic diversion plan and implement it within a week.”

Assistant police inspector Rajkumar Barde from Sinhagad Road traffic division confirmed that maintenance and repair work on Rajaram Bridge has started on Monday and that work on the side leading towards Kothrud and Karvenagar is currently underway. Once this phase is complete, repairs will shift to the opposite side, impacting traffic from Karvenagar to Sinhagad Road, Barde said.

Each side of the bridge will take about 22 days to complete which means that the bridge will remain closed for nearly two months.

Sandeep Patil, executive engineer of the PMC project department, said, “We had requested the traffic police to close Rajaram Bridge for repair and maintenance work. Based on our request, they conducted a trial by closing the bridge to traffic on Monday. After the trial, the traffic police has decided to revise the traffic diversion plan to make traffic movement smoother on Sinhagad Road.”

Swapnil Gujar, a resident of Sinhagad Road, said, “Getting stuck in traffic for hours in this scorching heat is unbearable. The closure of Rajaram Bridge without proper planning made the situation worse on Sinhagad Road. Authorities should consider the hardships faced by commuters, especially in such extreme weather.”

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The PMC has announced that the flyover at Rajaram Bridge will be inaugurated on May 1 by Pune district guardian minister Ajit Pawar. The PMC has issued an invitation to the media for the inauguration ceremony.