Pune: Road widening at five of Chakan’s most congested intersections along the Talegaon-Shikrapur highway is set for completion by Oct.Officials have identified HP Chowk, Khalumbre, Kharabwadi, MHADA society Chowk, and Ambethan Chowk as five major pain points on the highway. The bulk of the traffic to Chakan flows through these five intersections, which are also considered entry points to the MIDC section of industrial area.Currently, the section of the highway at these locations is 10 metres wide and is being extended to 15 metres. The public works department (PWD) is conducting the road widening work.“The department is conducting widening work at these places, and a total of 5.1 km stretch of road has been developed so far. In addition, we have also repaired the potholes along the entire 54 km highway from Talegaon to Shikrapur,” Prashant Pandit, assistant engineer, PWD, said.The govt, in 2025, tasked PWD with maintenance and upkeep of 54 km highway that connects Talegaon with Pune-Nashik highway. As per a survey conducted by the PWD last year, the traffic on the Chakan stretch of the highway is twice its capacity of 10,000 vehicles, he added.Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) will construct a four-lane elevated corridor on Talegaon-Shikrapur highway.“The department has been conducting widening of the roads, which can accommodate one more lane, thereby easing traffic. The work is still incomplete on the additional lane and needs to be completed quickly. It will be helpful for commuters when the work on the elevated road starts,” Nilesh Kad Patil, an activist in Chakan, said.Nilesh Modhave, superintendent engineer, MIDC, said the completion of road widening will also alleviate some of the pressure on internal MIDC roads, as there will be less traffic congestion at the entry points.Multiple employees working in Chakan said that they currently spend more than 30 to 45 minutes just to enter the MIDC area because of heavy traffic on the main highway.
