Mumbai,feb.6 : The state government has resurrected a proposal to augment the Mumbai-Pune expressway in view of the increasing traffic between the two cities. The idea is to have a 14-lane connectivity that will include six lanes of NH4 and eight of the expressway. The project also envisages building a bypass between Khalapur toll naka near Khopoli and Sinhgad institute through an underground tunnel and a cable-stayed bridge to cut travel time.
The proposal had languished for the past four years for want of approval from the erstwhile Democratic Front government. PWD minister Eknath Shinde said, We will soon go before the cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure to seek its approval. The work will take at least 4-5 years to complete after the invitation of tenders.
The Rs 7,000 crore project will have to be approved by the Union ministry of environment and forests as the underground tunnel for the bypass road will have to be built 180 metres below the Lonavla lake. The irrigation department has already given an NOC for the project.
A MSRDC official said, The cost of the project will be recovered by extending the current toll concession period till 2030 without levying any additional charge.
Shinde said the project would be built on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis but the modalities are yet to be worked out.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which originates in Kalamboli, is 6-laned, while the NH4 from Shil Phata comprises 4 lanes. Traffic on NH4 hits the Mumbai Pune expressway from the Khopoli exit right up to the Khandala exit, leading to huge congestion on the stretch. Hence, MSRDC has proposed to widen the expressway and NH4 by two lanes each. The MSRDC official said, As a result, 14 lanes will be made available from Kalamboli to Dehu Road in Pune.
