Mumbai-Pune Expressway 'missing link' shut 2 months after launch after rain damage
Traffic on the Pune-to-Mumbai carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway's newly opened 'missing link' was diverted early Monday after a landslide occurred near the exit of
Traffic on the Pune-to-Mumbai carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway's newly opened 'missing link' was diverted early Monday after a landslide occurred near the exit of Tunnel 2 following heavy rainfall, officials said. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRDC) said the diversion came into effect at 4 am as a precautionary measure to ensure commuter safety. Authorities are monitoring the situation in coordination with the Highway Traffic Police and have urged motorists to avoid travelling on the route unless essential.
Read Full Story The Highway Traffic Police control room said vehicular movement on the Khandala Ghat stretch of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has also been affected due to waterlogging and the landslide, leading to traffic disruptions. The closure of the Mumbai-bound carriageway on the Missing Link has resulted in vehicles being rerouted through Lonavala, triggering long traffic snarls. A motorist travelling from Sangli to Mumbai told news agency PTI that he had been stranded near Lonavala since around 4 am after traffic was diverted.
"With the Missing Link closed, we had to take the Lonavala route and are now caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the expressway stretch passing through the town," the commuter said. The Missing Link project, inaugurated around two months ago, is a 13-km bypass on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway that passes through the Sahyadri hills. Designed to ease congestion on the Khandala Ghat section, it reduces the travel distance by about 6 km and cuts journey time between Pune and Mumbai by an estimated 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, relentless monsoon rain crippled connectivity between Mumbai and Pune on Monday morning, triggering landslides and flooding that suspended rail services and shut both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the old Mumbai-Pune Highway, stranding commuters and severely disrupting travel between the two cities. Ends
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