Mumbai-Pune e-way expansion in trouble? MSRDC hits roadblock

MUMBAI:After months of planning a multi-crore project to reduce congestion on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC)

MUMBAI:After months of planning a multi-crore project to reduce congestion on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has hit a roadblock.

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Just as tenders were to be issued for the expansion project, which includes an eight-lane elevated road on the most congested stretch of the expressway — from the Khalapur toll plaza to the Khandala exit — it has come to light that the plan is not technically feasible owing to a very steep up slope.

“We have found the gradient of the expressway after the toll plaza is 5, which makes construction of an elevated road technically impossible. Had it been between 2 to 4, the MSRDC could have managed construction somehow. The consultant has now been asked to find an alternative,” said a source. Not finding one could put the entire project on hold, sources said, as this segment is a crucial part of the plan to expand the expressway.

The six-lane elevated road is supposed to start soon after the toll plaza and continue in the upward direction before joining the proposed tunnel in the Khandala Ghat section. The road was expected to reduce the rush from both cities.. MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government’s plan to widen the Mumbai-Pune expressway plan is on a slippery slope.

At a time when the Rs7,000crore project has reached near the stage of issuing tenders, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials have realised that construction of a 12-km elevated link is not technically feasible.

According to sources, the planned elevated road, which is part of the link between Khalapur toll plaza and Sinhgad Institute, cannot be constructed on the expressway, as the latter is on high gradient (upslope).

The segment is a crucial part of the plan, as it is supposed to reduce the rush on the most congested stretch of the expressway, from the toll plaza to the Khandala exit.

The MSRDC officials are now looking for alternatives, failing to find which could raise questions on the project’s future.

The eight-lane elevated road is supposed to start soon after the toll plaza and continue in the upward direction before joining the proposed tunnel in the Khandala Ghat section.

“We have found the gradient of the expressway after the toll plaza is 5, which makes construction of an elevated road technically impossible. Had it been between 2 and 4, the MSRDC could have managed the work. The consultant has been asked to find an alternative,” said a source.

Last year, the MSRDC came up with a plan to provide 14 lanes between Mumbai and Pune, in which it planned to widen the entire expressway and the old highway, except the 12-km stretch between the toll plaza and Sinhgad Institute, by adding two lanes on each side.

Currently, the expressway has six lanes, while the old highway is a four-lane road.

According to the plan, the missing stretch is supposed to have an additional eight lanes — two elevated roads and two tunnels — in addition to the six lane expressway stretch. It will reduce the distance between these two points from 18km to 12km.

The consultant is mulling widening the existing stretch, wherever the elevated road is not possible.

However, sources said it is a challenging job, which may not get approval from the MSRDC.