E-Paper
NHAI invites bids for second Pune-Mumbai E-way; travel time may drop to 90 minutes
NHAI has invited bids for preparing the detailed project report (DPR) and conducting a feasibility study for the proposed ₹15,000-crore project
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated the process for developing a second Pune-Mumbai Expressway parallel to the existing corridor, with the proposed project expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to around 90 minutes.
NHAI has invited bids for preparing the detailed project report (DPR) and conducting a feasibility study for the proposed ₹15,000-crore project.
The proposed 130-km access-controlled expressway will begin at Chowk in Raigad district and connect to the JNPT (Pagote)-Chowk highway before extending to Shivre village near Bhor, where it will link with the Pune Ring Road. The corridor will also provide direct connectivity between Pune and the Atal Setu, improving access to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.
The project aims to address rising traffic congestion, frequent accidents and increasing vehicular load on the existing Pune-Mumbai Expressway. Officials said the new route is expected to ease pressure on the current corridor while strengthening connectivity between key industrial and logistics hubs in western Maharashtra.
According to officials, the proposed eight-lane greenfield corridor will be capable of handling nearly three lakh vehicles daily and significantly improve freight movement between Pune, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, JNPT Port and major industrial corridors.
The proposal follows an announcement made by Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in December 2025, when he unveiled plans for a parallel Pune-Mumbai Expressway as part of a larger infrastructure push in Maharashtra.
Gadkari had said the new expressway would extend from the Atal Setu-JNPA region to Pune’s Shivare Junction and reduce Pune-Mumbai travel time to just one-and-a-half hours.
“The first phase from Pagote near JNPA to Chowk has already received approval. Once the entire project is completed, the Pune-Mumbai journey can be completed in 90 minutes, while travel between Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru could be reduced to about five-and-a-half hours,” Gadkari had said.
The minister had also announced a proposed Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar greenfield expressway, estimated to cost ₹16,318 crore, which is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to about two hours. The project will be implemented in phases, with one alignment passing through Ahilyanagar and another through Shikrapur and Beed district.
Meanwhile, Pune is also set to receive several major highway projects, including the ₹4,207-crore Talegaon-Chakan-Shikrapur elevated corridor featuring a multi-level transport structure comprising a surface road, two flyovers and a Metro line. NHAI official Sanjay Kadam said, “The proposed corridor will run parallel to the existing expressway and form part of the proposed Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway network.”
