Pune civic body to construct BRTS corridor on old Pune-Mumbai highway

The old Pune-Mumbai highway between Khadki Cantonment and College of Engineering chowk has been proposed for construction of yet another Bus Rapid Transit Route (BRTS) corridor by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The work on the project will shortly begin. The 2.2 km BRTS line would cost Rs 77 crore, and the civic body has invited bids for it. VJ Kulkarni, head of the road department of PMC, told the media that the stretch was suggested in the initial BRTS design. Years ago, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) finished construction on their side of the road. Although due to land constraints and authorisation from the defence department, PMC was unable to carry out the plan. Pavan Mapari, a junior engineer with the PMC Road Department, who is in charge of the project, stated that the process is in motion, and they will soon have ownership of the defence land. The area around Khadki Station currently has a road width of 18 to 19 m; this would be increased to 42 m. The 2.2 km portion of the BRTS project would have a precise road map created by a consultant. On this length, PMC plans to build five BRTS stops in addition to other features. At Bopodi, there is a bottleneck that would be resolved soon. In Pune, a test BRTS project was to be launched in 2006. The Katraj-Swargate-Hadapsar section was where the project was completed. The project was opposed by the public due to the high number of accidents on the BRTS road. Due to the project's failure, the Congress party, which was in power in the PMC under the leadership of MP Suresh Kalmadi, came under fire from the locals. In the local election held in 2007, all members of Congress were defeated. So, the BRTS project construction was slowed down by political parties. Even though the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) supported the BRTS project, they did not give it any momentum or permit construction on new corridors while in office from 2017 to 2022. Image Source Also read: MSRDC set up land authority for Samruddhi Mahamarg route