E-Paper
Parts of Pune-Mumbai e-way to be shut from March 12-20 for maintenance work
The State Highway Police will be removing loose rocks at landslide-prone areas and carry out repair work on the expressway during this time
Sections of Pune-Mumbai expressway will be shut for 15-minute intervals, five times a day, every day, between March 12 and March 20.
The State highway police will be removing loose rocks at landslide-prone areas and carry out repair work on the expressway during this time.
Traffic will be halted for 15 minutes daily near the landslide-prone areas, identified by police as specifically before and after the Khandala tunnel. Five such halts are planned every day. The specific times of the traffic halts have not been revealed.
Milind Mohite,superintendent of police, State highway police (Pune region) said, “We have decided to close the expressway for 15 minutes at five different time slots, but to ensure smooth traffic flow on the weekends there is no closure.”
“This is pre-monsoon work, to avoid any mishaps involving loose boulders,” Mohite added.
“The highway police with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has formed a team to carry this out along the highway. The team will patrol the area between Khalapur and Lonavala, where most landslides have taken place over the past few years,” said Dilip Ukirde, chief engineer, MSRDC.
Local police stations and chowkies along the highway will be used to monitor traffic.
