The Kondhwa (Khadi Machine Chowk) – Saswad – Veer road passing through Bopdev Ghat will be closed for road works for the upcoming Pune Grand Tour Cycling event till January 13, as per the announcement made by the Pune district collector. People travelling from Saswad to Pune are requested to travel using alternate routes via Palkhi Marg, Fursungi, Saswad, and Dive Ghat.
The press release by the collector said, “Strengthening and asphalting work will be carried out on the Kondhwa (Khadi Machine Chowk) – Saswad – Veer road, State Highway No. 131, between km 1/600 and 6/550 (Stage-2: Yewalewadi Arch to Bopdev Machi). During this period, those traveling from Saswad towards Kondhwa should use the alternative route via Palkhi Marg, Fursungi, Saswad, and Dive Ghat.”
Other roads in the Haveli area will also be temporarily closed and diverted to the above alternative route to facilitate full-width paving work from January 7 to 14.
The Pune Grand Tour is a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) 2.2 level race to be held from January 19 to 23. The race is inspired from the Tour de France and will consist of 4 stages spanning 437 km in Pune district. 171 participants from over 30 countries will be participating in the race, making it the largest ever event of its level across the world, according to information provided by Dudi.
Rs 500 crore will be spent to upgrade the roads for the event.
The first segment of the 91.8 km race passes through Mulshi, Maval, and Pimpri Chinchwad. The second stage of 109.15 km passes from Pune, Purandar, Rajgad, and Haveli; the third stage of 137.07 km passes from Purandar and Baramati, while the last stage of 99.15 km passes from Pune, Haveli, and PCMC to end near Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir in Pune city.
