The “missing link” project has been postponed several times because of geographical complexity and ambitious technological feats.
A senior official from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) explained that, “while progress has been steady, the team is proceeding with caution.”The second viaduct is still being built, even though the tunnels and viaduct 1 are finished.” The official stated that this section is particularly challenging as it crosses a valley.
A major element of this project is the second viaduct, a bridge supported by cables that rises to an amazing height of 100 meters over Khandala Valley. The project has been complicated and time-consuming because of its tall structure and other engineering problems.
As the Navi Mumbai airport is about to open, travelers can celebrate the completion of the missing Pune-Mumbai Expressway link.
The construction did not impact traffic on the current Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is still one of the busiest roadways in the whole country, despite these delays.
The MSRDC official said “they have taken extra care to ensure minimal disturbance to drivers during construction.”
The official goes on to say that “We are focusing on the work being done safely and without affecting the regular flow of traffic.” They are currently using the project’s tunnel and vaiduct 1 to get to the vaiduct 2 work site.
In the Lonavala-Khandala part, the project includes of a 640-meter cable-stayed bridge that reaches 100 meters over the Tiger Valley, a 1.75-kilometer tunnel and also an 840-meter viaduct that starts from Khopoli.
After here, the road goes through further 8.9 kilometers of tunnel, with the Lonavala lake above it and parts that are as deep as 170 feet below the surface.
Travel time will really become so much low by this new alignment. At this time, the highway link Khopoli and the Sinhgad Institute 19 kilometers apart that too with more than half of that distance going through a ghat.
Drivers will also be able to reach speeds of up to 120 km/h as there will be few slopes to deal with. According to the authorities, one of the main goals of the project’s design is to make the Mumbai-Pune Expressway a “zero-fatality corridor.”
This project is meant to prevent accidents, particularly in the quite dangerous ghat area.
The project will also deal with the current problem of traffic jams that is caused on by falling rocks and other debris from hills in the area, which is quite problematic during the monsoon season. MSRDC wants to put a stop to these seasonal disturbances and guarantee safer and smoother trips for passengers by using modern technical solutions and a more secure way.