The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MahaMetro) initiated work on a pedestrian subway at Swargate, connecting the planned multimodal hub to the state transport bus terminus. MahaMetro said on Thursday that it has submitted a traffic diversion plan for Satara Road to the city traffic police.
“We expect to get a reply in a day or two, after which we will implement the diversions,” a MahaMetro official said. Traffic coming from Katraj towards Swargate will be diverted to some extent.
“Vehicular traffic is unlikely to be disrupted too much as the stretch of Satara Road outside the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus terminus is wide enough. Vehicles will also be able to use the flyover going toward Laxminarayan Theatre Chowk. A final plan will be released soon,” the official said.
The multimodal hub is coming up at Jedhe Chowk and will comprise the underground Metro station and a surface-level PMPML bus terminus. MahaMetro has started work on the underground station. “We are now beginning work on the pedestrian subway, which will be used by commuters to walk between the Metro station and the MSRTC terminus. With the subway, people will not be required to navigate traffic and cross the road,” another MahaMetro official said.
The subway will be constructed in the “cut and cover” method, in which a large pit will be dug. The pit will be covered up after work on the subway is completed, MahaMetro said. As per the plan, MahaMetro would take up work at the MSRTC terminus end of the subway, as the state transport bus service is not operating at full capacity due to the pandemic.
“At a later stage, we will take up work on the Metro station side,” an official said. The MahaMetro has said that it was in the process of erecting barricades at the work site. “Signboards will be put up at strategic points proving directions to vehicle users,” the official said.
The Swargate Metro station is the termination point on the underground stretch of the Pimpri-Swargate Metro corridor. This route is elevated from Pimpri to Range Hills, where after it goes underground near the College of Agriculture in Shivajinagar.