India's first expressway is set to become even more seamless for millions of motorists travelling between Mumbai and Pune. The much-awaited missing link, which will bypass the winding and dangerous ghat section of the expressway, is nearing completion and is scheduled to be unveiled by July 2024. About 85% of the expressway's current traffic is estimated to use the new route.
The INR 6,695-crore project, undertaken by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, boasts of several records, including the world's widest twin tunnels spanning 47 metres across 10 lanes, a fact recognized by Guinness World Records. The daylighting process for tunnels in two stretches of 8.9 km and 1.7 km has been completed.
The remaining work involves bridging the 650-metre gap between them with the country's highest cable-stayed road link, which is being constructed in the beautiful Tiger Valley. The pylons with an average height of 132 metres and a maximum height of 182 metres and the connecting pillars for the bridge are in their final stages of construction.
The 12.1 km Missing Link project aims to bypass the 19 km Khandala Ghat section of the expressway, thereby reducing the distance between Mumbai and Pune by over 6 km and reducing travel time by about 30 minutes. This reduction will result in significant fuel and carbon savings as the ghat section burns fuel due to uphill climbs and traffic congestion.
Although the toll structure of the expressway will not change, motorists will have to pay it for 15 years beyond the current toll contract period, which was due to expire in 2030.
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