Urban News

The tender process would get over in 45 days and the PCMC expects to start the work by February. Municipal Commissioner Asheesh Sharma said the overbridge would be the first of its kind in the state that will be over road, rail and river. He said it will cut down the travel time for heavy vehicles, especially those coming from Nashik and heading to Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Bangalore and beyond, adding that the junction had become accident-prone. Sharma said at least twice the Bank had asked the civic body to make changes in the tender terms and other specifications. “The World Bank sanctioned the project after we made the changes,” he said.

Allaying fears of the residents that there would be mass displacement, Sharma said, “There will be no large-scale displacement. We would remove only those properties that are illegal. The bridge is being constructed at the centre of the Pune-Mumbai Highway and hence there will no displacement as of now.”

Sharma said the major part of the overbridge would be completed in a year and after that a few structures on the Pune-Nashik Highway would be removed. As for the slum existing since the 70s, he said the dwellers would be rehabilitated as per norms. PCMC executive engineer Sanjay Bhosale said though the work would not displace business and residential establishments, some properties would have to be removed for the service road.

The overbridge project was flagged off by NCP chief Sharad Pawar in 2004 when the cost was estimated at Rs 30 crore.