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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Missing Link on Mumbai–Pune Expressway: A Critical Infrastructure Push

Mumbai: The over 30-plus hour traffic jam on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway on Wednesday and Thursday, has once again underscored the urgent need for the long-pending “Missing Link” project — a strategic intervention aimed at eliminating chronic congestion, particularly along the vulnerable Khandala-Lonavala ghat stretch. The unprecedented disruption, triggered by an overturned gas tanker near the Adoshi tunnel, left thousands stranded for over a day and exposed deep structural bottlenecks in...

Missing Link on Mumbai–Pune Expressway: A Critical Infrastructure Push

Mumbai: The over 30-plus hour traffic jam on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway on Wednesday and Thursday, has once again underscored the urgent need for the long-pending “Missing Link” project — a strategic intervention aimed at eliminating chronic congestion, particularly along the vulnerable Khandala-Lonavala ghat stretch. The unprecedented disruption, triggered by an overturned gas tanker near the Adoshi tunnel, left thousands stranded for over a day and exposed deep structural bottlenecks in Maharashtra’s most vital intercity corridor. Chaos That Exposed Infrastructure Gaps The crisis illustrated how a single accident can paralyse the entire expressway for hours — or even days. Commuters reported limited emergency support, slow vehicle movement and widespread frustration as the traffic jam extended beyond 30 hours. Experts and transport planners argue that the existing ghat section remains highly vulnerable due to steep gradients, merging traffic streams and limited bypass options. Consequently, when accidents occur, there are few alternative alignments to divert vehicles, leading to cascading traffic failure across the corridor. Why the Missing Link Is a Structural Solution The 13-km-plus Missing Link project, being implemented by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), is designed precisely to address such systemic weaknesses. By bypassing accident-prone curves and congested mountain stretches, the project aims to reduce travel distance by about 6 km and save roughly 20–30 minutes under normal conditions — with even greater gains during peak congestion. The new alignment includes two major tunnels, cable-stayed bridges and modern viaducts engineered to allow smoother traffic flow while minimising landslide risks and bottlenecks. Urban mobility experts note that had the Missing Link been operational, a significant portion of traffic could have been diverted away from the accident site, potentially reducing the scale and duration of the recent gridlock. Current Project Status and Completion Outlook After multiple delays due to engineering challenges, weather conditions and complex terrain, MSRDC has pushed the completion target to early 2026, with tunnelling work largely finished and bridge construction nearing completion. Authorities have repeatedly emphasised that the project is nearing completion, with overall progress crossing the mid-90% mark in recent updates. Rajesh Patil, Joint Managing Director, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said, " We will complete the project by April 2026 end. We have completed 97% of the project and only 3% of the work remains.” Strategic Implications for Mobility and Safety Once operational, the Missing Link is expected to significantly reduce congestion in the ghat section — historically the weakest link in the Mumbai–Pune transport ecosystem. The project will not only improve travel reliability but also enhance road safety by eliminating dangerous hairpin bends and steep inclines that contribute to accidents and frequent traffic standstills. In broader economic terms, smoother intercity mobility is crucial for logistics efficiency, tourism flows and industrial connectivity between Maharashtra’s two largest economic hubs. The traffic nightmare has reinforced a long-standing truth: Maharashtra’s busiest expressway cannot rely on legacy infrastructure alone. The Missing Link project is no longer just a capacity upgrade — it is an operational necessity to ensure resilience against accidents, disasters and surging traffic demand. With completion now targeted for April 2026, its timely commissioning will be critical in restoring commuter confidence, reducing systemic vulnerability and future-proofing one of India’s most strategically important highways.

Stranded honcho takes ‘wings’ to Pune

Mumbai | Pune: When lakhs of travellers either baked or froze in their vehicles during the massive 33-hour long traffic snarls on the prestigious Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a Pune businessman was all ‘cool’.


Dr. Sudhir Mehta, Chairman of Pinnacle Industries Ltd, Pune, was stuck in the traffic chaos at the Mumbai end for over eight hours and finally decided to ‘rise’ out of it, literally, in a chopper.


He somehow managed to reach the Juhu Aerodrome at Vile Parle, hired a helicopter and reached Pune early on Wednesday. He reported his victory flight in a social media post in detail, and also shot out an earful for the authorities.


Dr. Mehta described his ordeal, as experienced by many thousands, vividly – a snaky ribbon of concrete turned into a massive 100-kms plus long parking lot, wrong-side driving and breaking rules was the norm, with the expressway reduced to a lawless crawl.


A Mumbai commuter revealed how even some suited-booted elites turned into roadside rowdies and were seen hurling the choices abuses at the officialdom, to vent their frustration as many missed medical appointments or national-international flights from either city.


Though officially just an innocuous ‘one gas tanker’ accident near the lush Western Ghats in the Pune-Raigad sector, the fallout exposed the fragility and vulnerability of India’s booming infrastructure projects or how they can simply collapse in such emergencies.


However, as his friend Nitin Welde, a consultant for helicopters in civil aviation, said, it was not a Bollywood-style heroic rescue or a dramatic airlift of Dr. Mehta from the expressway.


Dr. Mehta, whose company is the promoter of EKA, automotive and tech company, reached the Juhu Aerodrome and boarded the chopper like any other chartered passenger – debunking the tales telecast by some television channels – said Welde.


The authorities also got a piece of Dr. Mehta’s mind: “Lakhs of people are stuck on the expressway for the last 18 hours for ‘one gas tanker ‘. For such emergencies we need to plan exits at different points on the expressway which can be opened to allow vehicles to return. Helipads cost less than Rs 10 lakhs to make and require less than one acre of open area. These need to be mandatory at various points near the expressway for emergency evacuation.”


Touching a chord as many thousands lost an entire working day when India’s A-listers could quietly explore an escape route – through the skies – if it was available, particularly for those in dire straits.


A couple of days before, Dr. Mehta had called out to India’s overstretched civil aviation sector, and argued strongly on the need for more airlines, better service, and faster response times.


“The current airlines are woefully inadequate and the quality of service and response time is getting worse by the day. Travelling is inevitable - confusion & hubris isn’t,” declared Dr. Mehta who chucked horse-power for a helicopter.


Mumbai-Pune Expressway unclogs after 33 hrs

The unprecedented and longest ever traffic jam that choked the Mumbai-Pune Expressway finally cleared by Thursday noon and vehicular traffic started zooming back on India’s first access-controlled thoroughfare, officials said.


The expressway that was paralysed from Tuesday evening - when a speeding tanker filled with the deadly propylene gas tanker turned turtle near the Aroshi Tunnel – came back to life as sedans, SUVs, jeeps, tempos, ST and private passenger buses, trucks and tankers slowly started moving shortly after dawn in both directions.


The traffic movement became possible after the authorities managed to shift the leaking gas tanker from the main highway lanes with the help of experts from oil companies before it was declared safe to resume operations on the 94.50 kms long expressway.


Several thousand people including tourists, regular commuters, patients, elderly and kids had to suffer the ordeal for over one full day. Many had no food or water, mobile batteries had drained off, some even exhausted their fuel to critical levels as they kept the vehicle air-conditioners on for hours to beat the daytime heat.


A police official confirmed that by Thursday evening, most of the worst-hit spots were cleared of the traffic logjam and vehicles were moving nearly as normal to and from Mumbai-Pune.

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