Mumbai and Pune are all set to come closer by next year as the ambitious ‘Missing Link’ project will reduce the travel time between the two cities by half an hour and distance by over six kilometres. The 13.3-km road project, which is most likely to be ready in eight months, would save Rs 1 crore of fuel every day and will have Asia’s widest tunnel.
The existing Mumbai Pune expressway section from Khopoli exit to Sinhgad Institute in Kusgaon is 19.8 km which passes through the hill town of Lonavala. However, the missing link project of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will reduce this section distance to 13.3 km as it cuts across the hill by 8.9 km and 1.7 km tunnel along with two bridges of 840 metres and 650 metres length. There are parallel routes for both directions with four lanes and one emergency lane on both routes.
“The Missing Link project is in advanced stage and will be completed in May next year after which it can be opened to the public. The work of both tunnels is 98 per cent complete and technical works are being done now. The construction of a bridge is complete while the work of 840-metre cable bridge is 65 per cent complete,” said Rakesh Sonawane, executive engineer of MSRDC and in charge of the project.
The expressway was constructed two decades ago and has been witnessing an increase in traffic every year, he said. The Missing Link project was proposed as a solution to traffic jams and increase in travel time in the Lonavala ghat section.
In addition to saving travel time between Mumbai and Pune, Sonawane said the new road would reduce the wear and tear of vehicles while also avoiding fatigue of commuters.
“The existing vehicle count is one lakh on the expressway, which is further estimated to increase. Thus, the Missing Link is likely to save fuel worth Rs 1 crore every day in addition to the precious 30 minutes,” he added.
According to MSRDC, the Missing Link tunnels are 23.30 metres wide with four lanes and one emergency lane for each tunnel which makes it the widest tunnel in Asia. Also, the 650 metre-long cable-stayed bridge is on a pillar of height 181.77 metre, making it one of the tallest in the country.
The Rs 6,595-crore project is proposed to avoid the steep slope and the ghat section making the stretch from Khopoli exit to Kusgaon a `zero fatality corridor’. The work was started in 2019 and was to be completed in 2022 but got delayed due to the pandemic.
The project includes construction of approach road and widening of existing expressway along with increasing the number of toll booths on either side. All the work of the project will be completed by year-end except for the bridge joining the two tunnels in both the directions which will be completed by May.
There will be emergency medical service on the route for any eventuality and also a public address system for commuters to get the instructions while using the tunnel and bridge. There will be a complete ban on halting vehicles in the entire stretch.
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