2023 deadline for Pune-Mumbai expressway “missing link” to be missed: MSRDC

Work on a stretch of highway between the Khopoli exit of the Mumbai-Pune expressway on the Yashwantrao Chavan expressway and the Sinhgad Institute will now begin, after being a victim of several stop-start efforts due to the Covid-19 lockdowns dating back to August 2020. As part of the project, the existing six lanes on the said stretch will be turned into eight lanes and the distance reduced to 13.3 km. With this “link” in place, the total length of the expressway from Pune to Mumbai will be reduced by 6km and travel time reduce by 20-25 minutes. This 19km stretch, cited as a “missing link” of the Mumba-Pune expressway, was chasing an April 2023 deadline, which, officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation said on Thursday, that is unlikely. People will be able to travel avoiding the Khandala ghat,” official said, adding, “The new route will not have steep turns which reduce accidents.” The work on this road section is devided into two phases.