Second Mumbai-Pune Expressway soon, says Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced major infrastructure projects in Pune, including a new Mumbai-Pune Expressway and a Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar expressway.

MUMBAI: A second Mumbai-Pune Expressway parallel to the existing one, a new expressway from Pune to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and a major infrastructure boost for Pune – these were some of the projects announced by Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Friday.

Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari. (Bloomberg)

The new 130-km expressway from Mumbai to Pune, estimated to cost ₹15,000 crore, will extend from the Atal Setu near JNPA to Pune’s Shivare Junction. “The first phase, from Pagote (near JNPA) to Chowk (Panvel), has already been approved. Once completed, the Pune-Mumbai journey will take just one-and-a-half hours, while the Pune-Mumbai-Bengaluru journey can be covered in five-and-a-half hours,” said Gadkari, architect of the existing Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a state-of-the-art marvel when it opened in 2002.

Gadkari also announced another greenfield expressway, between Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Estimated to cost ₹16,318 crore, it will reduce travel time between the two cities to just two hours, Gadkari claimed.

The first phase will run via Pune-Ahilyanagar-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, while a second route will start from Shikrapur, circumvent Ahilyanagar and run through Beed district. Gadkari said the project will also enable travel between Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur in about two-and-a-half to three hours.

Addressing the media at the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur, Gadkari said, “Road development work worth ₹1.5 lakh crore has been approved across the state for the coming year. Of this, projects worth nearly ₹50,000 crore have been approved for Pune district alone, all of which are expected to begin within the next three months.”

He said Pune has been given an infrastructure boost in this allocation. Major projects in and around Pune include the Talegaon-Chakan-Shikrapur elevated corridor, a four-tier project (road at ground level, two flyovers above it, and a metro line on top) costing ₹4,207 crore. The tender process has been completed and the foundation stone will be laid soon, Gadkari said.