Pune: Civic chief Naval Kishore Ram and other officials on Monday inspected ongoing road and infrastructure works in areas of North Main Road, Hadapsar railway station and Keshavnagar. Ram directed all departments concerned to expedite pending road-widening works to provide relief to daily commuters.Ram told officials to immediately relocate service channels obstructing widening activities and start land acquisition process for the remaining works on North Main Road between ABC Farm and Tadigutta chowks. At present, the stretch has two lanes on each side. However, citizens have been demanding for addition of one lane each on both sides to reduce traffic snarls. They also said the progress has been slow and the road has been widened only in segments where Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is in possession of the land. Several bottlenecks hamper the overall commute, they added.Ram also inspected the stretches near Hadapsar railway station and ordered the road development and drainage department to finish laying of stormwater and drainage lines. Local sources said the road projects in Hadapsar railway station area are very important since express trains operate from Hadapsar now, pushing up daily footfall. Residents said existing roads are not wide enough to handle the current vehicular movement.Keshavnagar-Kharadi bridge to open by weekendThe Keshavnagar to Kharadi bridge over Mula-Mutha river is expected to open to traffic by the weekend. During inspection of the bridge, Ram told PMC’s special projects and road development department to initiate steps to open the bridge by Aug 15. The bridge is ready for the last one month, but remains shut owing to incomplete approach roads. The facility is expected to reduce travel time between Kharadi and Keshavnagar and reduce congestion at Mundhwa chowk.
