| Mumbai Pune Expressway | |
|---|---|
| Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway यशवंतराव चव्हाण द्रुतगती मार्ग |
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Expressway map |
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| Route information | |
| Maintained by MSRDC | |
| Length: | 93 km (58 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| From: | Kalamboli (Near Panvel) |
| To: | Dehu Road (Near Pune) |
| Location | |
| States: | Maharashtra |
| Highway system | |
The Mumbai Pune Expressway (Marathi: मुंबई-पुणे द्रुतगती मार्ग), officially the Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway (Marathi: यशवंतराव चव्हाण द्रुतगती मार्ग) is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed, access controlled tolled expressway.[1] It spans a distance of 93 km (58 mi) connecting Mumbai, the administrative capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India, with Pune, an industrial and educational hub. This expressway introduced new levels of speed and safety in automobile transportation to Indian roads.[2]
The expressway has reduced the travel time between the cities of Mumbai and Pune to approximately two hours. For most practical purposes, it has replaced the older Mumbai-Pune stretch of the Mumbai-Chennai National Highway (NH 4), which had become extremely congested and accident-prone over time. The expressway starts at Kalamboli (near Panvel) and ends at Dehu Rd. (near Pune). It cleaves through the scenic Sahyadri mountain ranges via passes (Marathi: घाट) and tunnels. It has five interchanges Kon (Shedung), Chowk, Khalapur, Kusgaon and Talegaon.
The expressway has two carriageways with three concrete lanes each separated by a central divider and a tarmac or concrete shoulder on either side. Vehicles with fewer than four wheels and agricultural tractors are not permitted, although tractor-trailers (semi-trailer rigs are permitted). The expressway handles about 30,000 PCUs daily, and is designed to handle up to 1,000,000 PCUs.
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In 1990, the Government of Maharashtra appointed RITES and Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick of United Kingdom to carry out feasibility studies for the new expressway to be operated on toll basis. RITES submitted their report in 1994 with the estimated cost of project at 1,146 crore (US$217.74 million). The Government of Maharashtra entrusted the work of the construction of Mumbai-Pune expressway to MSRDC in March 1997 on Build-Operate-Transfer basis with permission to collect toll for 30 years. The environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India was received on October 13, 1997. The Forest Clearance was received on November 11, 1997.
The tender notice was published in leading newspapers all over India and also on the Internet. Due to wide publicity, 133 tenders were sold and on December 18, 1997, 55 tenders were received. After technical and financial evaluation, tenders were accepted and work orders were given on January 1, 1998 to four contractors. Thereafter tenders for widening of Khandala and Lonavala-Khandala bypass works were invited. The tenders were received on August 24, 1998 and orders were issued on September 4, 1998.
The project was completed under the stewardship of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
The expressway cost 1,630 crore (US$309.7 million) to construct.
The first sections opened in 2000, and the entire route was completed, opened to traffic and made fully operational from April 2002.
It has five illuminated, ventilated tunnels totalling 5,724 metres. These tunnels were built by the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.
These are:
| Tunnel | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhatan | This tunnel opened in April 2000. The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 1,053 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 1,088 m long. |
| 2 | Madap | This tunnel also opened in April 2000. The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 305.3 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 359.3 m long. |
| 3 | Adoshi | This only has a Pune-Mumbai tube. The Mumbai-Pune carriageway skirts the eastern edge of the tunnel while the Pune-Mumbai carriageway traverses the 258 m long tunnel. |
| 4 | Khandala | This is a curved pair of tubes. The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 293.5 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 400 m long. |
| 5 | Kamshet-1 | It has 2 tubes roughly 900 m each. |
| 6 | Kamshet-2 | 359 m |
The entire length of expressway has a single layer of barbed wire fencing to keep out stray cattle.
| Description | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start of Expressway (Mumbai end) () to Kon-Shedung interchange | 8.5 km (5.3 mi) |
| 2 | Kon-Shedung interchange to Bhatan tunnel | 6.3 km (3.9 mi) |
| 3 | Bhatan tunnel to Madap tunnel | 10.6 km (6.6 mi) |
| 4 | Madap tunnel to Khalapur toll station | 7.3 km (4.5 mi) |
| 5 | Khalapur toll station to Khalapur-Sajgaon gas station & rest area | 1.6 km (0.99 mi) |
| 6 | Khalapur-Sajgaon rest area to Adoshi tunnel. The Mumbai-Pune carriageway skirts the eastern edge of the tunnel while the Pune-Mumbai carriageway traverses the 256 m long tunnel. |
6.9 km (4.3 mi) |
| 7 | Adoshi tunnel to the old British-built Deccan-Konkan stone trestle. This is the site of the old (1830–1928) GIPR reversing station. |
4.5 km (2.8 mi) |
| 8 | Stone trestle to Khandala tunnel | 0.8 km (0.50 mi) |
| 9 | Khandala tunnel to Khandala | 2.7 km (1.7 mi) |
| 10 | Khandala to Tungarli | 3.5 km (2.2 mi) |
| 11 | Tungarli to Kamshet-1 tunnel | 17.1 km (10.6 mi) |
| 12 | Kamshet-1 tunnel to Kamshet-2 tunnel | 1.2 km (0.75 mi) |
| 13 | Kamshet-2 tunnel to Talegaon toll station | 11.1 km (6.9 mi) |
| 14 | Talegaon toll station to Somatne interchange | 3.4 km (2.1 mi) |
| 16 | Somatne interchange to End of Expressway (Pune end) () | 7.6 km (4.7 mi) |
| Total length of Expressway: Start to End | 93.1 km (57.8 mi) |
Toll is collected at Khalapur (Pali Phata) (for the Mumbai-Pune direction) and at Talegaon (for the Pune-Mumbai direction). The toll ranges from 165 (US$3.14) for private cars, to 175 (US$3.33) for multi-axle trailer trucks.
The Expressway has witnessed a large number of accidents, attributed to human errors and the large volume of traffic. In 10 years there were 1758 accidents, with more than 400 fatalities. .[3] Sporadic instances of robbery have also been reported in the highway. [4] [5] [6]
MSRDC has decided to extend the Mumbai Pune Expressway from the current endpoint of Kalamboli near Panvel and to extend it till Sion in Mumbai. The extended stretch will reduce commuting time between Mumbai and Pune by 30 minutes. Under the plan, the Sion Panvel Expressway corridor will be widened, with dedicated lanes for heavy and light vehicles. Service roads will be built for entry and exit at various points. It will also involve constructing a brand new bridge over the Thane creek parallell to the current Vashi Mankhurd Bridge. MSRDC will undertake the expansion project. Work is expected to commence in March 2009 and complete by September 2011. The new 22-km link is expected to cost 800 crore (US$152 million).
The expressway was conceived and the work started when the BJP and Shiv Sena ruled the Maharashtra State. At some point they decided to name the expressway after one of the greatest Marathi litterateur Late Pu. La. Deshpande. Eventually, in 2009, the ruling coalition (Congress, NCP) named the expressway after the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Late Yashavantrao Chavan who was instrumental in development of Maharashtra.
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