Expressways are the highest class of roads in the Indian Road Network.

As of 2006, the
expressways of India make up more than 600 km of the Indian National Highway System.
However, the National Highway System also consists of approximately 10,000 km (6,200 mi) of
four-laned highways that do not feature full control of access.[1][2] Currently, a massive project is
underway to expand the highway network and the Government of India plans to add an additional
18,637 km (11,580 mi) of expressways to the network by the year 2022.[3] These roads will be
access-controlled roads and will feature between four to six lanes with 3,530 km (2,190 mi) km to
come up in the next three years. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is already in the
process of preparing a draft for creation of a National Expressways Authority of India (NEAI) on
the lines of NHAI.[4]

The Mumbai Pune Expressway (Marathi: मुंबई-पुणे दुतगती मागर), officially the Yashwantrao Chavan
Expressway (Marathi: यशवंतराव चवहाण दुतगती मागर) is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed,
access controlled tolled expressway.[1] It spans a distance of 93 km (58 mi) connectingMumbai,
the administrative capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India, with Pune, an industrial
hub[citation needed]. 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 scenicSahyadri 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.

History
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway at night as seen from Khandala

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$248.68 million). The Government of Maharashtra
entrusted the work of the construction of Mumbai-Pune
expressway to MSRDCin 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.
[edit]Construction
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway as seen from Khandala

A view of the expressway

The project was completed under the stewardship of the

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
The expressway cost 1,630 crore (US$353.71 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.
[edit]Tunnels

It has five illuminated, ventilated tunnels totalling 5,724 metres.

These tunnels were built by the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.
These are:
 Tunnels

Tunnel Description

This tunnel opened in April 2000.

1 Bhatan The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 1,053 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 1,088 m
long.

This tunnel also opened in April 2000.

2 Madap The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 305.3 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 359.3 m
long.

This only has a Pune-Mumbai tube.

3 Adoshi The Mumbai-Pune carriageway skirts the eastern edge of the tunnel
while the Pune-Mumbai carriageway traverses the 258 m long tunnel.

This is a curved pair of tubes. The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 293.5 m

4 Khandala
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 loose cattle.
[edit]

Tolls
Toll is collected at Khalapur (Pali Phata) (for the Mumbai-Pune
direction) and at Talegaon (for the Pune-Mumbai direction). The
toll ranges from 140 (US$3.04) for private cars, to 978
(US$21.22) for multi-axle trailer trucks.
[edit]Safety

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]
[edit]Future Expansion
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 parallelly 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$173.6 million).
[edit]