Pune's Urban Renaissance: Roads, Art, and a Grand Tour

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) recent infrastructure push has gone beyond resurfacing roads, delivering a visible facelift to large parts of the city through installations, wall paintings, graffiti, redesigned dividers, and improved signage. This effort has reshaped both how Pune moves and how it looks during the ongoing Pune Grand Tour cycle race event. Now, citizens have expressed hope that the civic body will ensure that the condition of roads not covered under the competition will also be brought up to standard, and it will be a continued effort throughout the year.

Over the past three months, PMC has overhauled nearly 75 km of major city roads while simultaneously focusing on streetscape aesthetics, an approach rarely seen in sustained civic execution in the city. The work, carried out ahead of the proposed Pune Grand Tour 2026, began on October 19 after the civic body was directed to ensure international-grade road conditions for the cycle race contest.

Naval Kishore Ram, Pune municipal commissioner, said, “The ongoing road infrastructure is not just limited to the cycling event, but will continue throughout the year and people will see the transformation. We have raised the bar on road development and are confident of cooperation from newly elected corporators as well.”

As part of the drive, damaged stretches were repaired, milling work completed, and roads resurfaced using double-layer asphalt technology. Crevices on cement concrete roads were sealed, while over 2,000 drainage chambers were reset to road level to ensure smoother travel. Nearly 85% of the work was carried out at night to minimize traffic disruption.

According to the PMC road department, cyclists who tested the upgraded stretches on Thursday reported riding at speeds of up to 70 kmph on several sections—an unusual benchmark for Pune. Officials said more than one lakh metric tonnes of asphalt were used, including for repairs to roads under the Pune Cantonment.

In parallel, the civic body undertook extensive beautification works in collaboration with private firms through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Several areas now feature curated installations, graffiti, and wall paintings, along with cleaner footpaths and streetscapes. Improved road markings and signage have also contributed to a more organized urban look, officials said.

Long-neglected dividers on East Street and Moledina Road—some nearly two decades old and damaged or stolen—were rebuilt, repainted, and properly aligned. These stretches were also resurfaced, improving both ride quality and visual appeal. Overhead cables dangling across roads were removed, reducing clutter and improving safety.

PMC also maintained a road roughness index of 2.5 metres per kilometre, a standard typically associated with highways. The project was divided into four packages and executed at an estimated cost of ₹130 crore.

Aniruddha Pawaskar, head, PMC road department, said, “We took painstaking efforts to bring about this change over the past three months. There were no shortcuts. I had to postpone my daughter’s marriage from December to February to remain focused on the project.”

Citizens too have welcomed the makeover, but cautioned that consistency would be key. They said the real test for PMC would be maintaining road quality and cleanliness throughout the year and extending similar upgrades to other parts of the city which has not seen upgradation. “The roads are smooth and art installations at various spots add to the beauty of the city. Now the civic body should develop other roads and ensure they remain in better condition throughout the year,” said Manasi Kulkarni, an IT engineer residing in Aundh.

Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad will see major traffic changes on Friday as the traffic police have notified road closures and traffic diversions for Stage 4 of the Pune Grand Tour 2026. The route of the contest’s last leg will begin from the Balewadi Stadium and traverse key roads in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad before concluding at Balgandharva Rangmandir. Deputy commissioners of police Himmat Jadhav and Vivek Patil issued the traffic arrangements for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad respectively. While the traffic changes in Pune will be enforced from 12 pm to 4 pm, those in Pimpri-Chinchwad will be in force from 10 am to 6 pm.