Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that work is underway on a new highway between Mumbai and Pune, projected to cut travel time to just 90 minutes. The project is part of a wider ₹2 lakh crore infrastructure push in Maharashtra.
At the Lokmanya Tilak National Award ceremony in Pune, Gadkari revealed that this corridor will significantly decongest existing expressways, easing current journeys—which often take up to five hours during peak times. He emphasised that the initial ₹15,000 crore phase in Pune will begin within two weeks, with ₹50,000 crore rollout by December and further feasibility studies for another ₹15,000 crore in progress. This high-priority initiative reflects a commitment to economic integration, reducing travel times not just for commuters but also for cargo movement, aligning with national mandates such as PM Gati Shakti and Bharatmala, which aim to strengthen multimodal freight corridors through projects like the Mumbai–Nagpur economic corridor.
Past tender offers—including a ₹3,600 crore proposal by a private firm to upgrade the existing expressway—were rejected for being financially unviable, with state authorities now opting to execute the project themselves to ensure better cost control. Urban mobility experts note that reducing journey times from nearly five hours to 90 minutes is transformative for business travellers, students, and freight logistics. This corridor is expected to catalyse new industrial nodes, promote equitable development outside Mumbai, and reduce carbon footprint by discouraging longer, less efficient routes.
However, the initiative is not without challenges. Land acquisition remains complex, especially around the Pune airport corridor. Gadkari acknowledged delays and emphasised the need for close coordination with state officials and landowning communities to launch the ₹15,000 crore initial phase successfully. Additional upgrades are occurring in parallel. The Mumbai–Pune Expressway missing link, incorporating a 10.6 km tunnel and 650 m cable-stayed bridge, is 95 % complete and expected to open by December 2025. This segment alone will reduce travel time by up to 25 minutes and bypass risky ghat curves.
Meanwhile, MSRDC is preparing to expand the expressway to a 10-lane superhighway at an estimated cost of ₹14,260 crore. The upgrade aims to ease weekend and holiday traffic, which currently spikes vehicle count from 65,000 on weekdays to over 100,000. While critics caution that rapid infrastructure rollout can strain environmental compliance and community consultation, urban planning specialists assert that projects of this scale present a unique opportunity. If implemented with clean energy mandates, public transport linkages, and ecological safeguards, the corridor could serve as a model for sustainable economic urbanism in India.
As construction progresses, commuters and policymakers alike await clarity on timelines, funding models, and integration with planned amenities—such as logistics parks, EV charging infrastructure, and last-mile connectivity.
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