Pune: To ease chronic traffic congestion in Shivajinagar, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) standing committee on Thursday approved a proposal to undertake a ₹73.52 crore flyover (grade separator) project between Sakhar Sankul and the Old Pune-Mumbai Road.Pune, India - Feb. 2, 2018: HT reporter Ananya Barua trying to access free WiFi installed by PMC at PMC building as a part of smart city project in Pune, India, on Friday, February 2, 2018. (Photo by Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)The approval will now be placed before the general body for final sanction.According to PMC officials, the flyover is expected to be completed in 18 months, excluding the monsoon period.At present, commuters travelling from Sakhar Sankul towards the Old Pune-Mumbai Road use the Wakdewadi underpass, which has become a major traffic bottleneck during peak hours due to its limited carrying capacity. Residents, local elected representatives and the area’s MLA had repeatedly demanded a permanent solution to the congestion, prompting the PMC’s project department to propose the flyover.Shrinath Bhimale, standing committee chairman, said, “The total project cost has been fixed at around ₹73.52 crore after factoring in all associated civil, utility and statutory expenses.”The civic body had appointed Pritam Enterprises as the project consultant on August 14, 2025. Following topographical and geotechnical surveys, along with a traffic study, the consultant prepared the flyover design and submitted detailed project reports, estimates and technical documents to the PMC.The project’s detailed estimate of ₹73.51 crore received technical clearance from the technical scrutiny committee on November 20, 2025. The municipal commissioner granted administrative approval for initiating the tender process on January 19, 2026.Although the project did not have a budgetary allocation in the PMC’s 2025-26 budget, the standing committee approved an initial provision of ₹2.6 crore through budget reallocation on January 5, which the general body later ratified on January 19. The amount will be used to begin preliminary works.Since the project spans multiple financial years, the remaining funds will be allocated in phases through future civic budgets.The project includes construction of the main flyover, shifting of water supply and drainage utilities, slip roads, stormwater drains, other civil works, quality control measures, royalty charges, insurance and Goods and Services Tax (GST).