Pune, Oct 24 The Pune Municipal Corporation is upgrading 84 kilometres of roads within its jurisdiction as part of preparations for the Pune Grand Tour (PGT) 2027, an international Category 2 cycling competition scheduled to be held here from January 26 to 31.
The six-stage competition will cover a total distance of 1,088 km across Pune district, of which 16 km, part of the first stage scheduled on January 26, falls within the PMC limits. The sixth and final stage on January 31 will cover 136 km within the civic body’s jurisdiction, officials said on Saturday.
“With the cycling route within the PMC limits expanding from 75 km to 136 km, we have taken up the necessary road improvement works, including the development of 84 km of newly added stretches,” PMC City Engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar said.
The priority is to ensure the routes are in good condition, with proper road surfaces, repaired footpaths, standardised signage and road markings, he added.
The civic body is also expediting utility-related works along the designated roads, including water supply pipelines, sewerage networks, piped gas lines, electrical cables, CCTV infrastructure and optical fibre cables (OFC).
Road department officials are coordinating with concerned agencies to ensure these works are completed within the stipulated time and to the required quality standards.
Road resurfacing is also being undertaken in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOPs), officials said.
Pawaskar, along with the PMC’s chief engineer (roads), other civic officials, project contractors and consultants, conducted detailed inspections of the cycling routes.
“More than 2000 new drainage and utility chambers will be levelled to match the road surface for the Pune Grand Tour cycling. Speed breakers along the designated routes will be temporarily removed and reinstalled after the competition in accordance with Indian Road Congress guidelines,” Pawaskar said.
Road rumblers that may obstruct cyclists will also be removed by chiselling them out, he said, adding that work will be undertaken under existing contracts, without requiring any additional funds.
The ongoing works, their progress and pending technical issues were reviewed during site visits and meetings held over the past two days.
“All concerned officials, contractors and agencies have been directed to expedite the pending works and ensure timely completion without compromising on quality. They have also been directed to follow precision in lifting the chambers to the surface level,” said Rajesh Bankar, Chief Engineer (Road) of the civic body.
The road infrastructure must meet the requirements of the Pune Grand Tour while ensuring the safety of cyclists and citizens, he said.
(PTI News)
