It took about five hours to travel between Mumbai and Pune, before the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, one of the first showpieces of modern India’s infrastructure development, was opened to the public in 2002. Officially named the Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai Pune Expressway, the six-lane Pune-Mumbai Expressway has replaced the National Highway 4 (NH-4) as the preferred road between Mumbai and Pune.
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Mumbai-Pune Expressway: Capacity
The 94-kilometre Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which currently handles about 60,000 vehicles per day, is one of the busiest arterial corridors in India, linking India’s financial capital with Pune, the automobile manufacturing and education centre of Maharashtra.
See also: All about eastern peripheral expressway
Mumbai Pune Expressway: Planning
With an aim to initiate the project, the Maharashtra government appointed the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) in 1990, to prepare a feasibility report for the Mumbai Pune Highway project. Nitin Gadkari, the then Public Works Department (PWD) minister of Maharashtra, proposed the Mumbai Pune Express Highway route from Kon (near Panvel) to Dehu Road (near Pune) in 1997. Subsequently, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) was awarded the contract to build the Mumbai Pune Expressway.
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Mumbai-Pune Express Highway: Project cost
Completed in 1999, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, billed as India’s first expressway project, was built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,600 crores. However, the expressway, also known to be the first road project to be completed on time in India, was fully completed only in 2002.
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Mumbai-Pune expressway toll in 2024
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has hiked the toll rates for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway by 18% from April 1, 2023. The toll at Mumbai-Pune Expressway is collected at 5 toll plazas. Khalapur and Talegaon are the main toll plazas at the expressway. Nearly 1.5 lakh vehicles use it every day.
Mumbai-Pune expressway toll rate 2024
| Vehicle type | Toll fee |
| Cars | Rs 320 |
| Mini buses | Rs 495 |
| Heavy-axle vehicles | Rs 685 |
| Buses | Rs 940 |
| Large trucks | Rs 1,630-2,165 |
Note: On the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, travellers are charged toll only for the distance that they travel.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway toll collection controversy
In 2020, a public interest litigation was filed in the Bombay High Court, challenging the extension of toll collection on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway till April 2030, even though an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that the entire capital outlay of the Expressway was recovered in 2019.
In response, the MSRDC said the CAG audit neglected various aspects of the expenditure and was, thus, inaccurate.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway: Speed limit
Even though the project was designed for speeds of well over 120 kmph, the speed limit on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is 80 kmph.
Mumbai Pune Expressway: Missing link
Since the alignment between Khopoli and Lonavala could not be constructed due to viability gap funding issues, the existing alignment of the NH-4 had to be followed by widening it to six lanes. This results in major traffic jams as the traffic from the NH-4 and the Expressway merge in this section.
(Source: MSRDC)
To address this issue, a 13.3-km alternative alignment with eight lanes, popularly called the ‘missing link’, has been planned. It will start at the Khopoli Exit in Raigad and end at the Sinhagad Institute near Lonavala (Pune). Work on the project has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the MSRDC to postpone the 2023-end deadline. When operational, the ‘missing link’ will reduce the distance between Mumbai and Pune by nearly six kilometres and will cut the total travel time on the highway by 25 minutes.
See also: Upcoming expressways in India
Mumbai-Pune Highway intelligent traffic management system
Amid a spike in the number of accidents and fatalities and recurring traffic jams on the Mumbai-Pune Highway, the Expressway will soon have an intelligent traffic management system.
The intelligent traffic management system is an artificial intelligence application, linked with high-tech cameras, sensors and other traffic violation detection systems, installed on highways. The system will provide real-time updates to traffic authorities at the central command centre and help keep a check on traffic violations. To be built on a public-private partnership basis, the system will cost Rs 160 crores for 10 years.
Note that speeding, overloaded vehicles, unauthorised halts and violation of traffic rules have resulted in a substantial rise in the number of accidents on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
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latest update
Traffic to halt temporarily on Mumbai-Pune Expressway on April 3-4
April 3, 2024: Traffic movement on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will be disrupted on April 3-4 between 12 PM and 2 PM due to the scheduled installation of a gantry at the 93/900 mark. Travellers have been advised to use alternate route. All types of vehicles will be diverted through Kiwale bridge via the Old Pune-Mumbai Highway.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway ‘Missing Link’ to be ready by July 2024
June 22, 2023: The “missing link” project on the Mumbai-Pune expressway is scheduled to be ready by July 2024. This 12.1-km route will act as an alternative route that bypasses the 19-km Khandala ghat section of the expressway and comprises two sets of twin tunnels, and two viaducts, one of which is a cable-stayed bridge.
Highway traffic management system on Mumbai-Pune Expressway to curb accidents
June 22, 2023: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will use a highway traffic management system (HTMS) on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway from August this year to reduce frequent accidents. The project will be done on a public-private partnership basis, under which the system will have 370 cameras and 17 types of traffic violations will be tracked by a private company. The firm will collect Rs 555 per challan.
“We will have a control room at Kusgaon near Lonavala where traffic police personnel and highway patrol will monitor CCTV feed and certify an offence for a challan to be issued. Currently, there are barely any places where speed is monitored, only one or two vehicles with speed guns are deployed by the state transport department during the daytime,” says MSRDC joint managing director Sanjay Yadav.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s new lane to cut travel time
April 3, 2023: A new lane being constructed on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway that would cut the travel time by 20 to 25 minutes. The 19.8-km lane, which will run between Khopoli and Kusgaon, may be opened for commuters by January 2023. According to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), 65% of the work on this lane has already been completed and the remaining parts would be done by December 2023.
FAQs
Who is the operator of the Mumbai Pune Expressway?
The Mumbai Pune Expressway is operated and maintained by the Maharashtra government through the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
Which company collects toll on the Mumbai-Pune Highways?
In 2021, toll road firm IRB Infrastructure Developers said that it had bagged a contract for operating and collecting toll on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway under the toll-operate-toll model from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
An alumna of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, Sunita Mishra brings over 16 years of expertise to the fields of legal matters, financial insights, and property market trends. Recognised for her ability to elucidate complex topics, her articles serve as a go-to resource for home buyers navigating intricate subjects. Through her extensive career, she has been associated with esteemed organisations like the Financial Express, Hindustan Times, Network18, All India Radio, and Business Standard.
In addition to her professional accomplishments, Sunita holds an MA degree in Sanskrit, with a specialisation in Indian Philosophy, from Delhi University. Outside of her work schedule, she likes to unwind by practising Yoga, and pursues her passion for travel.
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