Route changes at Pune University Chowk compounds traffic, situation to persist till February-end

The Pune city police notified the latest set of traffic changes on Wednesday, specifically for the construction of a ramp on Baner road and other related elements of the major construction project. The Pune University junction has been witnessing heavy construction activity due to the work on the double-storey flyover, which has shrunk the width of the carriageway at the junction and also of various connecting roads.

This is the sixth major traffic change being implemented by the police at the junction since the construction of a double-storey flyover began in late 2022. Officials said these changes will remain in force at least till end of February.

As per notification of the Pune city police, traffic from Baner will be diverted to Aundh Road, where vehicles can take a U-turn at the divider break near Raj Bhavan and go towards Shivajinagar via Pune University. Vehicles coming from Shivajinagar towards Aundh will pass straight through Pune University Chowk and continue via Aundh Road to their destination.

Vehicles going from Aundh to Shivajinagar will be diverted through the Millennium Gate next to Chatushrungi police station, pass through Pune University campus and come out through the main gate of the university and proceed to their destination.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Amol Zende said, “It is true that the latest set of changes has resulted in longer travel time. We have also observed that the peak traffic periods are longer than before. However, we are minutely observing the flow and are calibrating measures on the ground almost every day.”

Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil said, “We have observed in the past that every time we introduce traffic changes, commuters take some time to get used to it and figure out the diversions. We hope the situation will improve within the next two days.”

The old flyovers — one at the Pune University junction and one in front of E-Square theatre — were demolished by Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) in 2020 after it was jointly decided by the PMRDA and the Pune Municipal Corporation to construct a two-storey flyover with the top floor for an elevated Metro rail corridor to connect Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar and the first floor for vehicular traffic.

The Pune University junction, which sees traffic flowing to and from Pashan, Baner, Aundh and the combined traffic of Ganesh Khind Road and Senapati Bapat Road, is one the busiest traffic junctions in the city.