The connection will allow vehicles travelling from the Pune-Solapur national highway to access the Pune-Mumbai and Pune-Satara highways without entering Pune city. Officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation and the NHAI reviewed the progress of the road and flyover during a recent site inspection.
The authorities decided to acquire 10 additional properties that had previously been left out of the land acquisition process. The civic body is accelerating work on the 3.5-km Katraj-Kondhwa Road project, which has faced prolonged delays because of land acquisition difficulties.
Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram directed officials to complete the acquisition after discussions with landowners and meet the March 2027 deadline for widening the road to 50 metres. A further widening to 84 metres is planned for completion by March 2028. Most of the service road work has been completed, but electric poles must be removed before construction of the grade separator bridge can proceed.
The civic body also plans to develop a 9-km extension from Khadi Machine Chowk to Wadki Chowk, creating a connection between the Mumbai-Satara and Solapur highways. Land acquisition for the Katraj road widening took more than 28 years and involved an investment of Rs. 210 mn.
Katraj has traditionally served as an entry point to Pune for travellers from Bengaluru, Goa, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara. Traffic congestion increased after vehicle volumes grew on the narrow Katraj-Kondhwa Road, which connects the city with Saswad and Solapur, despite the construction of a new bypass route through Narhe.