The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC) has submitted a proposal to the state government to add two more lanes to the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. The work will soon start once the proposal is approved by the state government, said officials. The expressway currently has six lanes and the MSRDC plans to make it eight lanes to reduce the traffic congestion considering the increased flow of vehicles on the road in the last few years.
The MSRDC also plans to complete the work on the expressway within three years once the proposal is approved by the state government. Considering this the commuters will have to wait for another few years to get additional lanes on the expressway. The road witnesses a heavy traffic jam lasting for hours on weekends and holidays as a large number of people travel between Pune and Mumbai. Besides, the tourists visiting Lonavala and adjoining areas also take this route during the monsoon.
The expressway was opened for vehicular movement in 2002 with an aim to reduce the travel time between Pune and Mumbai. However, the number of vehicles have increased in the last few years due to which the demand to increase the lanes has been raised on multiple occasions. Besides, the number of accidents reported on the expressway is also causing serious problems to the commuters as any accident leads to heavy traffic jams and the vehicles are piled up for hours unless the vehicles involved in the accident are removed and the rescue agencies reach the spot.
