Pune to Aurangabad travel time to be reduced to 2 hours once Mumbai-Delhi Expressway is ready, says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Friday, laid the foundation work of national highways in Satara and Sangli districts of Maharashtra costing Rs 2,300 crore. He later said that soon travel timings from Aurangabad to Pune will be reduced to just two hours once the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway is completed next year.

Current travel time from Aurangabad to Pune is nearly four to five hours which will be cut down by half.

Reportedly, the access-controlled expressway between the two cities, which are at a distance of around 225 km, will be built and its cost is estimated to be Rs 100 billion.

According to a report in Pune Mirror, the green expressway will connect Pune to the 701-km-long Samruddhi Mahamarg.

A report quoted Gadkari saying that the work on expressway will begin soon and that six highways being built in Maharashtra will reduce travel time between Pune and Nagpur connecting other cities.

Addressing the public, Gadkari said that the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway will be open for use next year and that connectivity between Kashmir to Kanyakumari will be available once the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway passing through Nashik, Ahmednagar and Solapur is completed.

In another report, Gadkari was also quoted speaking on Alandi-Pandharpur road, a route that devotees take during the annual Pandharpur pilgrimage, will be completed in next three months and that he has proposed the highway be unveiled at the hands of sadhus and sants.