While traffic congestion on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway typically occurs on weekends or during holidays, today (Thursday, February 19) long queues of vehicles were seen despite it being a weekday.
As per videos going viral on social media, traffic was seen to have come to a standstill on the Mumbai side of the Expressway. Long queues stretching several kilometres were formed. People were seen getting out of their vehicles and standing on the Expressway, waiting for the traffic to clear.
This comes only a few days after a tanker carrying flammable propylene gas toppled near the Adoshi tunnel, leading to a one-and-a-half day traffic standstill on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Following the accident, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said it has begun working on a special emergency traffic plan to better handle similar crises in the future.
Meanwhile, the 13.3-km Missing Link project which will bypass the 19.8 km accident-prone ghat section between Khandala and Lonavala is expected to significantly ease traffic flow.
Connecting Kusgaon and Khopoli through two tunnels measuring 1.64 km and 8.9 km and cable stayed bridges, the route will reportedly cut travel time between Mumbai and Pune by about 30 minutes.
According to reports, vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals will not be permitted to use the stretch.
