Mumbai-Pune Expressway to get new lanes

Road travellers can now expect a smoother ride to Pune. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is planning to add new lanes to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune National Highway for the benefit of travellers.

Road travellers can now expect a smoother ride to Pune. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is planning to add new lanes to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune National Highway for the benefit of travellers.

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“We will add two lanes to the six-lane Mumbai Pune Expressway and two lanes to the four-lane old highway,” MSRDC vice-chairman and managing director, Bipin Shrimali said.

The cost of expanding the two roads is estimated at around Rs5,000 crore.

Once the work is complete, the number of lanes leading to Pune will increase from ten to 14. The project will expand these roads by 100-120km.

The MSRDC is presently looking for consultants who will help in formulating and implementing the project, which includes identifying contractors who can execute it.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which connects Mumbai and Pune, and the National Highway, which connects ten cities, are the most widely used roads in the country. Together, both the roads carry more than one lakh vehicles per day.

The MSRDC is planning to carry out work on the project on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. Work on the project is likely to begin by the end of the year.