Looming state polls may further delay eway widening works, proposal not taken up in cabinet meet

Pune: The proposal to widen the 94km long Pune-Mumbai expressway would be cleared only after the assembly polls as the state cabinet did not discuss it during the meeting on Monday, senior state officials told TOI.
The officials said the proposal, prepared by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), was submitted to state govt in Feb.
"It was expected to be discussed and reviewed in the cabinet meeting ahead of the Lok Sabha election. It was, however, delayed as approvals from several departments were awaited. The state election, likely to be announced soon, will further delay its clearance, pushing the completion date of the work to 2028, instead of 2027 as planned earlier," an official said.
According to the proposal, two more lanes will be added to the six-lane expressway. "The estimated budget for the work is Rs 5,000 crore, which has to be cleared by the state finance department. The proposal was not taken up during the Monday's cabinet meeting," the official said.
MSRDC officials said the widening work on the missing link work between Khalapur and Khopoli (6km) and the 1.5km stretch near the Talegaon toll plaza was in last stage. "Khalapur has 16 toll booths, which will be increased to 34. Talegaon will have 28 toll booths, up from 16. Work is on at both these stretches," an MSDRC engineer said.
"Road widening at these stretches and the additional toll booths will help us reduce traffic congestion on the expressway," the engineer said.
Dev D, an entrepreneur who frequently travels between Pune and Mumbai, said govt should speed up the eight-laning work of the expressway. "The addition of two more lanes will have a positive impact on traffic situation on the expressway," he said.
"More toll booths and easy issuance of toll tickets must be the focus," said businesswoman Manisha Srivastava.
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The Rs 5,000-crore proposal for widening of the 94km long Pune-Mumbai expressway was submitted to state govt in Feb
It was to be cleared in two phases. In the first phase, road-widening at certain spots was to be undertaken, followed by the work on tunnels in the second phase
The proposed budget was for both construction and land acquisition. Land acquisition, mainly for the construction of eight new tunnels, is estimated to cost around Rs 800 crore
The expressway, consisting of six lanes, was built in 2002. The traffic volume between Mumbai and Pune has, however, increased substantially over the years
Consequently, the existing six-lane road, with three lanes in each direction, is proving to be insufficient. Around 1,50,000 vehicles use the expressway daily
Atal Setu has reduced the travel distance between Mumbai and Pune, potentially leading to a rise in traffic between the two cities. In light of this, MSRDC plans to extend the Mumbai-Pune expressway