The Maharashtra Public Works Department has been asked to widen the narrow bridge over the New Mutha Right Canal at Chouphula in Daund taluka and urgently improve the ghat road between Padvi and Supe, after concerns over daily congestion and serious road accidents on the busy Kedgaon-Supe state highway.
Daund MLA Rahul Kul raised both demands with Public Works Minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale at the Mantralaya. According to the report, the minister responded positively and instructed the Pune chief engineer of the Public Works Department to take necessary action.
The bridge at Boripardhi-Chouphula currently has three spans and is too narrow for two heavy vehicles to cross at the same time. The resulting movement restrictions are reported to cause substantial traffic queues every day. The report also says accidents occur at the location because of the narrow crossing.
The bridge is located on the Kedgaon-Supe state highway, described in the report as an important and heavily used route in Daund taluka. A proposed elevated highway between Hadapsar and Yavat on the Pune-Solapur National Highway is expected to increase the importance of the state route. Once work on that project begins, traffic from the national highway is expected to be diverted to the Kedgaon-Supe road, according to the representation submitted by Kul.
The MLA has therefore sought the construction of a new, larger bridge after widening the existing crossing. The demand is aimed at addressing the present bottleneck before the proposed highway work changes traffic movement in the area.
The second demand concerns the ghat section between Padvi and Supe. The road has sharp gradients and dangerous bends, while the report says the required banking at the curves is inadequate. Heavy vehicles can reportedly roll backwards while climbing. Some drivers attempt to negotiate the climb by moving into the opposite lane, creating the risk of head-on collisions.
The report further states that vehicles have lost control at the sharp turns and fallen into the valley in hundreds of incidents. Kul has asked the department to undertake the required land acquisition and ghat cutting, and to redesign the road to reduce the severity of the climb and improve its alignment.
The minister’s direction to the Pune chief engineer is the immediate administrative step reported in the matter. The next stage will involve the Public Works Department’s assessment and action on the proposed bridge, land acquisition and road-improvement requirements.
