The Katraj flyover is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, while the 3.5-km Katraj-Kondhwa road in Pune is expected to be widened to 50 metres by March 2027, according to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The project is intended to improve the connection between the city road and the Bangalore-Mumbai bypass at Katraj junction.
The planned link will allow vehicles travelling from the Pune-Solapur national highway to reach the Pune-Mumbai and Pune-Satara highways without passing through Pune’s city limits. The move is aimed at easing pressure on the narrow Katraj-Kondhwa road, which carries traffic towards Saswad and Solapur and has faced prolonged delays in widening.
Officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the NHAI recently inspected the Katraj-Kondhwa road and the proposed Katraj Chowk flyover. During the review, authorities decided to acquire 10 additional properties that are required for the road project but had not been included in the earlier acquisition process.
Shruti Naik, executive engineer at the NHAI, said the flyover connecting the stretch to the Bangalore-Mumbai bypass would be completed by December. PMC Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram directed officials to complete the additional land acquisition process quickly after discussions with affected landowners and instructed the agencies involved to meet the March 2027 deadline for the 50-metre-wide road.
The civic body has also set a longer-term target for the corridor. Ram said the necessary land acquisition process would be completed to widen the Katraj-Kondhwa Road to 84 metres, with a target completion date of March 2028. The wider cross-section would require further land acquisition beyond the work currently planned for the 50-metre road.
Most of the service road work has been completed, according to the PMC. However, electric poles still need to be removed before construction of the grade separator bridge can proceed. The removal of utilities remains an immediate implementation task alongside the property acquisition process.
The PMC is also planning a 9-km extension from Khadi Machine Chowk to Wadki Chowk. The proposed extension is intended to connect the Mumbai-Satara highway with the Solapur highway, creating an additional route between major highway corridors around Pune.
The Katraj road widening project has been delayed for years because of land acquisition obstacles. The PMC completed land acquisition for the widening process over a period of more than 28 years, with an investment of Rs 21 crore, according to the report.
Katraj junction has traditionally functioned as an entry point for travellers arriving in Pune from Bangalore, Goa, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara. Traffic increased after the construction of the Mumbai-Bangalore bypass via Narhe, but the narrow Katraj-Kondhwa road continued to carry vehicles entering or leaving the city towards Saswad and Solapur.
The immediate milestones are the completion of the flyover by December 2026, delivery of the 50-metre-wide road by March 2027 and further widening to 84 metres by March 2028. The PMC and NHAI will also have to complete the newly identified property acquisitions and remove the electric poles required for the grade separator work.
