Ajni Underpass Nagpur Targets November 2026 Opening — But Road Widening Will Follow in Phases

Relief is coming for commuters at one of Nagpur’s most congested junctions. The Public Works Department has set November 2026 as the target date for opening the underpass being constructed near the British-era Ajni Bridge. Furthermore, PWD engineer Anand Rode confirmed that opening the underpass by November would significantly improve traffic movement in the Ajni area. As a result, motorists travelling between Congress Nagar and Chuna Bhati will soon have a direct route that bypasses the perpetually congested Ajni Bridge Square junction entirely.

However, not everything will be complete by November. The underpass will open in phases — with the underpass itself becoming operational first, while road widening and permanent approach construction will follow separately. Moreover, this phased approach reflects PWD’s experience from previous underpass projects — that waiting for 100% completion before opening any part of the infrastructure denies commuters relief unnecessarily.

What the Ajni Underpass Project Includes

The Ajni underpass is part of a Rs 35 crore PWD project. Furthermore, this project has two main components — the underpass itself and the widening of the road connecting Ajni Bridge with TB Ward Square.

The underpass provides a direct underground route between Congress Nagar and Chuna Bhati. Furthermore, this route allows motorists to pass completely under the Ajni Bridge Square junction. As a result, vehicles no longer need to navigate the surface-level junction — with its signals, pedestrian crossings, railway proximity complications and general congestion.

At the same time, traffic moving between Kriplani Square and Ajni Bridge will continue to pass over the underpass on the surface road. Furthermore, this separation of traffic movements is a key design benefit — vehicles heading to different destinations use completely different levels, eliminating the conflicts that currently cause congestion at the junction. As a result, both the underpass users and the surface road users benefit from the separation.

The Phased Completion — What Opens When

The November opening is specifically for the underpass tunnel itself. Furthermore, the road widening work and the construction of permanent approaches to the underpass will be taken up in subsequent phases after the underpass opens.

Currently, the Ajni Bridge to TB Ward Square road ranges between 18 and 24 metres in width and largely functions as a two-lane stretch. Under the full project, it will be expanded to a uniform 30-metre width. Moreover, this road widening — from the current 18-24 metres to 30 metres — creates a six-lane corridor that will handle significantly higher traffic volumes than the current narrow road.

For the November opening, PWD plans to arrange temporary approaches and traffic diversions so that vehicles can access the underpass without waiting for the permanent approach road work to finish. Furthermore, PWD will gradually widen the surrounding roads over subsequent phases. As a result, the underpass becomes functional in November while the full project continues to be built around it.

The Waterlogging Question — PWD’s Answer

One of the concerns that Nagpur residents always raise about underpass projects is waterlogging during the monsoon season. Furthermore, Nagpur’s intense monsoon rainfall — with the city receiving significant annual rainfall concentrated in June to September — has historically created flooding problems at underpasses and low-lying road sections.

PWD officials have specifically addressed this concern for the Ajni underpass. They expressed confidence that the Ajni underpass will not face waterlogging problems. Furthermore, the drainage systems being incorporated into the underpass design are built specifically to handle Nagpur’s monsoon conditions. As a result, commuters should be able to use the underpass throughout the year — including during heavy rainfall — without the waterlogging disruptions that have plagued other city underpasses.

This assurance is significant. Moreover, if the Ajni underpass can remain operational during the monsoon unlike some existing underpasses in Nagpur, it will demonstrate that modern drainage engineering can overcome what has historically been the most serious operational limitation of underpass infrastructure in the city.

The Ajni Bridge Connection — What Is the Twin Cable-Stayed Bridge

The Ajni underpass is not being built in isolation. Furthermore, it is part of a larger transformation of the entire Ajni Bridge area that includes the twin cable-stayed Laxman Jhula bridge being developed by the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC).

The Laxman Jhula twin cable-stayed bridge is an entirely new structure being built over the railway lines at Ajni. Furthermore, the first phase of this cable-stayed bridge does not have a separate permanent approach road initially — it will use the existing road network when it first opens. Once MRIDC completes one side of the cable-stayed bridge, the existing old Ajni bridge can be dismantled. Construction of the other side of the new bridge can then begin.

The integration of the PWD underpass with the MRIDC cable-stayed bridge creates a multi-level connectivity solution at Ajni. Furthermore, vehicles will have the option to go under the railway lines via the PWD underpass, or over them via the new cable-stayed bridge. As a result, the Ajni corridor — which currently represents one of the most problematic connectivity points between the central and southern parts of Nagpur — will be transformed into a modern, multi-level infrastructure zone.

Why Ajni Is Such a Critical Junction

To understand why this underpass matters so much, you need to understand why Ajni is such a frustrating bottleneck for so many Nagpur commuters. Furthermore, Ajni Bridge Square sits at the intersection of several important routes — including connections from Wardha Road, Congress Nagar, Medical Square and the areas south of the railway lines.

The railway crossing at Ajni has historically been a major source of delay. Furthermore, unlike railway level crossings that can be avoided with a Road Over Bridge, the Ajni area requires a dedicated underpass or over-bridge solution because of the elevation and alignment of the railway lines relative to the surrounding road network.

For commuters travelling between the southern residential areas and Medical Square, Wardha Road and central Nagpur — the Ajni junction is often unavoidable. Moreover, the congestion at this junction has worsened as Nagpur’s population and vehicle numbers have grown. As a result, the underpass project addresses a pain point that thousands of Nagpur commuters experience daily.

The Delay History — December Target Now November

It is important to note that the current November target represents both progress and a cautionary note. Furthermore, The Hitavada earlier reported in August 2026 that the Ajni underpass had missed its original December 2026 target deadline due to tree clearance requirements.

Tree clearance permission was required for a limited number of trees along the FCI Road stretch and near TB Ward Square, where construction activities are linked to the underpass alignment. Furthermore, an application for this permission had been submitted to NMC. As a result, the tree clearance hurdle was identified as a potential factor that could push completion to March 2027.

However, the September 29 update from PWD — targeting November for the underpass opening — suggests that the tree clearance issue has either been resolved or that PWD is now confident about a November opening for at least the underpass tunnel itself, with road widening work continuing separately.

Therefore, the November target should be tracked carefully. Moreover, infrastructure projects in Nagpur have a consistent pattern of deadline adjustments, and the phased approach being adopted for Ajni adds complexity to what counts as “opening.” Nagpur Updates will track this carefully.

What Commuters Should Watch For

If the Ajni underpass opens in November as targeted, it will represent a meaningful improvement for daily commuters — even if the permanent approach roads and full road widening are not yet complete. Furthermore, a functional underpass with temporary diversions still eliminates the at-grade railway proximity congestion that makes Ajni such a difficult junction.

Nagpur residents who regularly use the Congress Nagar to Chuna Bhati corridor should watch for PWD’s official announcement of the opening date. Furthermore, Nagpur Updates will publish a complete guide to using the underpass — entry points, approach roads, connection to existing road network — as soon as the opening date is confirmed.