Third Aundh-Sangvi bridge raises major traffic concerns

There are already two bridges connecting the Aundh Road and Bopodi neighbourhood to Sangvi. Now, a third bridge connecting the same localities has raised several concerns among commuters and residents, who are predicting major potential traffic congestion on the arterial Aundh Road stretch.
The entrance of the new bridge is located opposite the IUCAA gate, just 100m from Ambedkar Chowk, which already experiences gridlocks during peak hours in the absence of functional traffic lights or police personnel.
While the bridge will benefit those travelling from Bremen Chowk to Sangvi, it may worsen the existing traffic issues on the narrow two-lane carriageway width of Aundh Road.
Vedprakash Agarwal, a senior citizen living in the neighbourhood for decades, said, "Back in the 80s, one could enjoy a stroll in the area. Today, one cannot even think of a leisurely walk here. There's no space. Vehicles, especially two-wheelers, take over the footpaths as well, leaving little or no space for pedestrians."
At present, if one was to visit the area during peak hours, they are bound to get stuck in traffic. Since the entire Aundh Road all the way to the Khadki underpass is narrow, traffic snarls often continue for kilometres at a stretch.
Some residents are of the view that the new bridge will affect the environment as well. "The third bridge was not required. It took a lot of taxpayers' money to build it. The bridge might ease a little bit of congestion, but it does not justify loss of flora and fauna in exchange. Migratory birds have stopped coming to the area after the construction work started," said V Varghese, a businessman residing in the area for years.
Since the construction of the bridge started during the Covid-induced lockdown, trees were cut overnight. "The trees were at least 50ft tall, and all of them disappeared overnight. I don't understand the point of the bridge. There is already a bridge near Spicer College and another one on Bhau Patil Road. There is no space for a U-turn unless you reach the Ambedkar junction, which is already a mess," Cedric Passanha, who has lived in the area for 27 years, said.
A visit to the bridge with members of the Aundh Road and Bhau Patil Road Residents' Association highlighted the need for ways to resolve the traffic chaos that appears unavoidable once the bridge becomes functional at full capacity. "As an association, we feel that the bridge should have one-way traffic towards Sangvi. The other side should be turned into something like a pedestrian plaza. This will allow vendors and hawkers currently operating on Aundh Road to shift to a designated spot," said Col Praveen Shrivastav (retd), a committee member. "Parking for people visiting the walkway will need to be redressed. Since the bridge has already been built, we are willing to sit with the authorities and look for efficient ways to end the traffic chaos," Shrivastav added.
The bridge is a collaboration between Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). When contacted, PMC engineer in-charge of the project, Ajay Wayase, said, "The bridge was planned to reduce congestion at Bremen Chowk and on Aundh Road. It was decided that once the bridge starts and we identify how the added vehicles are moving, traffic diversions will be made accordingly."
"We cannot have a double junction on Aundh Road. But any changes in the current traffic flow will be done after a few weeks of observation," he added. Khadki traffic in-charge police inspector Rajani Sarwade said that Aundh Road is under a lot of stress, since heavy vehicles have been diverted via this stretch because of the ongoing work on Ganeshkhind Road.
"Keeping the signal functional at Ambedkar Chowk is causing the traffic to pile up till Spicer College. We have stationed wardens and traffic police personnel instead to regulate traffic according to the vehicle count. As far as traffic from the new bridge is concerned, we had proposed to close the small opening in the median diagonally opposite the new bridge, but were met with resistance by the residents of the area," Sarwade said.
"We have been trying to coordinate with PMC to remove the encroachments on this stretch to ease vehicular congestion. For now, our only option is to wait and see how the traffic from the bridge merges and interacts with the other vehicles on this stretch," Sarwade told TOI.