2023 deadline for Pune-Mumbai expressway “missing link” to be missed: MSRDC

The lockdown is the major reason work slowed down. Now work in on in full swing between the Khopoli exit of the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The deadline will be extended to complete the project and we are monitoring work on a regular basis, says an official from the MSRDC on request of anonymity

Work on a stretch of highway between the Khopoli exit of the Mumbai-Pune expressway on the Yashwantrao Chavan expressway and the Sinhgad Institute will now begin, after being a victim of several stop-start efforts due to the Covid-19 lockdowns dating back to August 2020.

As part of the project, the existing six lanes on the said stretch will be turned into eight lanes and the distance reduced to 13.3 km. With this “link” in place, the total length of the expressway from Pune to Mumbai will be reduced by 6km and travel time reduce by 20-25 minutes. (HT PHOTO)

This 19km stretch, cited as a “missing link” of the Mumba-Pune expressway, was chasing an April 2023 deadline, which, officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said on Thursday, that is unlikely.

“The lockdown is the major reason work slowed down. Now work in on in full swing. The deadline will be extended to complete the project and we are monitoring work on a regular basis,” said an official from the MSRDC on request of anonymity.

As part of the project, the existing six lanes on the said stretch will be turned into eight lanes and the distance reduced to 13.3 km.

With this “link” in place, the total length of the expressway from Pune to Mumbai will be reduced by 6km and travel time reduce by 20-25 minutes.

“Once the missing link project is completed we expect the number of accidents to go down by 50 percent. People will be able to travel avoiding the Khandala ghat,” official said, adding, “The new route will not have steep turns which reduce accidents.”

The work on this road section is devided into two phases. In the first phase two 8-lane tunnels, 1.66km and 8.89km in length, will be constructed.

In the second phase two 8-lane viaducts – 900m and 650m each - will be constructed. This second phases will run from the Khalapur toll plaza to the Khopoli exit.

“One viaduct will be a cable-stayed bridge like the Bandra -Worli sea link. It will have a 650-metre span,” added the official.

The total project comprises two tunnels, two viaducts, three bridges, one small bridge, culverts and the 4+4 lane highway.