The service road that will link the new bridge directly to Sinhagad Road is likely to take more time to be completed and opened to traffic. The partial opening has already provided some relief to commuters on the stretch.
Supriya Sule, the local member of parliament and executive president of NCP (SP), visited the highway stretch with local corporators to confer with civic and highway officials about remaining bottlenecks. She has been pursuing the matter since she raised the demand for new bridges in 2019, arguing that increased traffic from other projects made the existing river bridge inadequate. Her intervention and continued follow up helped prioritise the construction on the bypass.
An NHAI official, Omkar Jagdale, said the bridge in the Mumbai-to-Bengaluru direction is complete while the opposite carriageway remains under construction and will be ready by early June. The foundation stone was laid by the Union Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in September 2024. The project cost is Rs 526.8 million (mn) and comprises two four-lane bridges on either side of the existing bridge together with several culverts and associated infrastructure.
The bypass also includes an elevated stretch at Vadgaon Budhruk that links the Mutha River bridges, and traffic to and from Sinhagad Road will be eased if the service road beneath the elevated section is developed and connected rapidly. Local planners say completion of the service road is critical to unlock the full benefit of the new bridges for daily commuters. NHAI officials are coordinating with civic agencies to sequence remaining works and minimise disruption during the final phase.