Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link Project, Featuring Asia’s Widest Tunnel, Set to Open in May 2025
Mumbai-Pune Expressway's Missing Link Project, Featuring Asia's Widest Tunnel, Set to Open in May 2025
New Deadline Set for Mumbai-Pune Missing Link Project Completion
- Deadline Extended: Mumbai-Pune Missing Link Project now set for May 2025 completion.
- Asia’s Widest Tunnel: New infrastructure to reduce travel time and enhance safety.
- Improved Connectivity: Advanced design aims to cut congestion and create a safer route.
PUNE: The completion date for the Mumbai-Pune Missing Link Project has been pushed back to May 2025, despite the project nearing its final stages. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) initiated this project to reduce the travel distance and alleviate traffic congestion for the thousands of commuters who travel daily between Mumbai and Pune.
Work on the Missing Link Project, which started in March 2019, is approximately 85% complete. The project includes the construction of a double tunnel from the Khopoli exit to Koosgaon in Lonavala, which is almost finished, and a cable-stayed bridge that is in its final stages and scheduled for completion by May 2025. The 13.3 km-long project, an ambitious endeavor by the state government, features two tunnels of 1.67 km and 8.92 km in length. The construction is leveraging advanced technology to ensure safety, and it will house Asia’s widest tunnel, measuring 23.30 meters, with four lanes and an emergency lane for each direction.
The project also includes a 650-meter-long cable-stayed bridge with a pillar height of 180 meters and a span of 305 meters between pillars. This design aims to bypass the steep slopes and hazardous sections of the existing expressway, transforming the 19 km stretch from Khopoli exit to Sinhagad Institute into a “zero fatality corridor.”
A Glimpse of Mumbai Pune Missing Link Project
— droneman (@dronemanYT) July 6, 2024
In the Monsoon .
Full Video – https://t.co/lXbZVAnqBf@Dev_Fadnavis @mieknathshinde #mumbai_pune_expressway pic.twitter.com/C6vqhgXD8t
Rakesh Sonawane, MSRDC executive engineer and project in-charge, highlighted that the project’s goal is to cut the travel distance between Mumbai and Pune by over 6 km, reducing travel time by nearly 30 minutes and improving safety. With the project almost complete, the final touches are being put on the tunnels, and bridge work is advancing, with 60 to 65 percent of the cable-stayed bridge already completed. Once finished, the Missing Link Project will provide a faster, safer route without additional tolls for travelers.
