Expressway chaos: Eight hours to reach Pune from Mumbai

An unusually heavy rush of commuters from Mumbai to scenic Lonavala-Khandala, Pune and further to popular destinations like Mahabaleshwar and Goa led to chaos and disruption of vehicular movement along the Pune-Mumbai Expressway on Saturday morning. The rush was attributed largely to the extended weekend. Travelling about 148km from Mumbai to Pune via the expressway took eight hours on Saturday. The usual travel time is three-and-a-half hours. The situation was particularly bad on the stretches between Khalapur and Lonavala. Long queues of four-wheelers, light commercial and heavy vehicles were seen in multiple lanes, moving slowly towards Pune from Mumbai. Ditto on the stretch between Lonavala and Khandala for vehicles going to Mumbai.