The missing link on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is likely to be completed by December this year. This will cut down travel time by 20 to 25 minutes and reduce the distance between Mumbai and Pune by 13.3 kilometres.
The project includes a 45-storey high cable-stayed bridge, which is considered the most challenging part of the construction. The project was first planned to be opened in March 2024. However, the deadline has been extended several times. It was then shifted to January 2025, followed by March 2025 and June 2025.
In March this year, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stated that the project would be completed by August 2025. He said the new link would help save fuel and reduce travel time. It will also help ease traffic congestion on the busy Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The latest official deadline is now set for September 2025.
Once the link opens, drivers will also be able to drive at speeds of up to 120 km/h, as the route will have fewer slopes. The tunnels in the project will have emergency cross passages every 300 metres in both directions. This will ensure that traffic movement is not affected during emergencies.
The new road section begins after the Pune end of the Khalapur toll plaza. It includes a bridge and tunnels that run 150 metres below Lonavala Lake. The new link will meet the motorway after the Sinhgad Institute of Technology.
The expressway is a 94-kilometre-long cement concrete road with six lanes and 2.5-metre-wide paved shoulders on each side. National Highway No. 4 (NH-4) is a 111-kilometre four-lane bituminous road connecting Shil Phata and Dehu Road.
The NH-4 and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway split near the Khandala exit and rejoin at the Khalapur toll plaza. The road from the Adoshi tunnel to the Khandala exit has six lanes and handles traffic from both NH-4 and the expressway.
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