Bridges: new builds and delays

Bridge work is moving in three directions at once: Pune is planning a new crossing, Oconomowoc’s Lapham Street Bridge is already under construction, and Jennings County work is set to start in May. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) (oconomowoc-wi.gov) (therepublic.com) In Pune, the Pune Municipal Corporation said on April 19 that it is preparing a bridge parallel to Rajaram Bridge to ease congestion on Sinhagad Road, and it is appointing a consultant to finalize design and feasibility. Preliminary planning points to a new wing on the Swargate-facing side of the existing crossing. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Rajaram Bridge is a two-way link between Sinhagad Road and Karvenagar Development Plan Road, and commuters told The Times of India that traffic still bunches up there even after two flyovers opened on Sinhagad Road in 2025. The city said a separate Suncity-Karvenagar river bridge is nearing completion and is expected to open by June 2026. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The Rajaram proposal sits inside a larger Pune push on transport works. The civic budget for 2026-27 set aside ₹740 crore for traffic planning and infrastructure, with bridge, flyover and road projects aimed at cutting congestion before the monsoon and over the next two years. (thebridgechronicle.com) In Oconomowoc, the Lapham Street Bridge replacement began on February 16 after the city and Wisconsin Department of Transportation scheduled a full reconstruction of the crossing over the Oconomowoc River. The city says the existing bridge is structurally deficient, functionally obsolete and limited to a single lane of traffic. (oconomowoc-wi.gov 1) (oconomowoc-wi.gov 2) The replacement is designed to widen the crossing for two lanes, shoulders and raised sidewalks, with pavement work running from near East Washington Street south past East Juneau Avenue. A January 23 resident letter from Wisconsin transportation officials said the job was expected to finish in summer 2026, after an initial city notice projected work through about mid-June. (oconomowoc-wi.gov 1) (oconomowoc-wi.gov 2) (oconomowoc-wi.gov 3) In Jennings County, the Indiana Department of Transportation’s contractor Enneking Pressure Cleaning is scheduled to begin a thin bridge deck overlay on State Road 3 over Graham Creek on or after Tuesday, May 12, according to The Republic. The work is expected to last through late July, weather permitting. (therepublic.com) That project lands alongside a separate Jennings County bridge job already in the pipeline. The Indiana Department of Transportation said in 2025 that rehabilitation of the Park Road bridge over the Muscatatuck River in Crosley Fish and Wildlife Area was expected to begin in 2026, last up to four months and cost about $942,000. (tribtown.com) Across all three places, the common thread is timing: one city is still in design, one bridge is deep in reconstruction, and one county is about to start seasonal repairs. For drivers, the near-term reality is the same one bridge projects usually bring — detours first, capacity later. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) (oconomowoc-wi.gov) (therepublic.com)