Officials said the chief minister’s office had given a positive response to the pre-feasibility report tabled before senior state officials last week.On Monday, Fadnavis had said roads account for barely 9% of the total land area in Pune, while vehicular load had crossed road capacity by over two times. He outlined a wider strategy for tackling traffic challenges and said underground roads could serve as a long-term solution in a land-starved city.Meanwhile, the Yerawada–Katraj twin tunnel is planned as a north–south underground corridor, linking the eastern part of the city with the southern suburbs and cutting across some of Pune’s most congested stretches. Officials said the project is expected to reduce travel time significantly and ease pressure on key roads by diverting traffic underground.The tunnel is part of a broader proposal to create a 54-km-long underground road network aimed to improve north–south connectivity, which is a major gap in Pune’s existing road layout, said planners. Officials said the estimated cost of the underground road network is around Rs32,000 crore, though detailed costing and phasing would be worked out at a later stage.PMRDA officials said the proposed network would connect areas such as Jagtap Dairy, Sinhagad Road, Pashan, Kothrud, Aundh, Sangamwadi and Khadki, offering an alternative high-capacity corridor beneath the city. The underground network is expected to connect to the inner ring road for better connectivity to highways, would improve regional connectivity and reduce pressure on urban roads.Officials said further details related to alignment, funding pattern, execution timelines and costs for the Yerawada–Katraj tunnel would be discussed once the proposal is taken up by Pumta. “After clearance at the PUMTA meeting, the proposal will be placed before the CM and then the cabinet. The state govt is expected to allocate the required funds thereafter,” a PMRDA official added.
