[GTE]

As a lot of you may know there is going to be a new short cut just before Lonavla. This is a brilliant idea & will definitely ease the congestion which is now the rule rather than the exception. As this has completely different roads for both directions, I think it would have been much better had they given priority for the completion of the road towards Pune as 99%of the congestion is when climbing rather than descending. This would have ensured that it is usable much sooner. However that would mean the ability to think out of the box which obviously is not covered in the civil service examination.

[ex-innova-guy]

Firstly, there is a lot which goes on while constructing or even repairing a Govt. maintained infrastructure. In this case the idea was present since the inception of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway which was the country's first Expressway IIRC. At that time our economy was just starting to thrive and the technology present wasn't so sophisticated as it is today. This was the reason why they had to take the Ghat route in the first place.

Since new innovations and technologies have arised since then they are taking this measure to cut the Ghat section completely which will further reduce the time atleast by 20-25 mins each way. Through some senior sources I personally have knowledge of the tunnels being almost completed which will connect the Khopoli section to the Sinhagad Institutes Lonavala section. It is supposed to get completed by next year and the only challenge currently is connecting the Khalapur section to the expressway. This is a challenge as the bridge to connect it would be on the Valley and the structure of it would be similar to what is present on the Bandra-Worli Sealink.

Not to say the amount of hassles like permissions, tenders, land acquisition, etc which all needs to be completed beforehand. No, I am not supporting anyone or on the Govt's side but since you too are from Mumbai you would be already knowing the amount of congestion which is there due to ongoing Metro Projects, etc.

We just simply have to live with it. Cheers!

[Rodie09]

This video on YouTube is very informative about the missing link project and it's current status with nice detailed drone shots. It's in public domain and one does not really need any connects for info on the project.

Looks impressive and really looking forward to the opening next year.

Cheers

https://youtu.be/1AUByrj4Ams?si=zryg16VY7ze8Urd6

[PreludeSH]

Looks major construction of bridges and tunnels. If only our city roads can match up our rapid highway progress

I see that there are big expressways being built mostly in Maharastra and UP. I have travelled in UP and dont see traffic matching the infrastructure available.

[GTE]

Quite frankly I don't see any reason why one leg cannot be given precedence over the other. The time & fuel saved would be enormous.

[mygodbole]

I came on this conversation late so my opinion may be outdated.

Three thought-processes mentioned above:

1) Thinking out of the box not covered in civil service;

2) Traffic matching the infrastructure; and

3) why one leg cannot be given precedence.

My personal opinion:

1) OK, let us think out of the box. Peak 'rush' hour on the ghats is normally observed between 10pm and 3am, since all trucks head uphill from Panvel. Can non-heavy vehicles traverse the distance via the old highway, likely to be less crowded in the 10pm-3am time slot? This is just a thought from my side, my personal opinion.

2) I personally hope traffic NEVER exceeds infrastructure. We get stuck on highways and at toll plazas simply because the infrastructure cannot match demand.

3) You decide, left leg or right leg; my leg or the chicken's leg, uphill or downhill. The moment any govt 'decides' on any one way or the other, there would be many, many and many more voices in opposition.

My opinion, expressed frankly.

[GTE]

3) You decide, left leg or right leg; my leg or the chicken's leg, uphill or downhill. The moment any govt 'decides' on any one way or the other, there would be many, many and many more voices in opposition.

The reason I suggested the climb part is because the jam is 99% of the time on that leg.

[antonylejos]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Looks major construction of bridges and tunnels. If only our city roads can match up our rapid highway progress

National highways are not a government service for the public. They are a business that makes a profit. If we begin to pay for our trips within the city, and every flyover and underpass starts making money for the government, we will witness significant improvements in city infrastructure.

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

I see that there are big expressways being built mostly in Maharastra and UP. I have travelled in UP and dont see traffic matching the infrastructure available.

When you look at the wide roads and expressways in North India, please don't compare them to South India. The road infrastructure in the South far surpasses that of Maharashtra (though I'm not sure about Uttar Pradesh).

For example, Mumbai to Ahmedabad had four-lane roads long before the South had four lanes, but there is only one highway connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad. In Maharashtra, there just aren't (m)any options.

Compare this with Bangalore -Chennai. You have multiple options to choose from. (There are 2 major highways) and there are multiple small road options to choose from.

If you haven't lived in Mumbai, you might be surprised to learn that Mumbai has only five entry points:

Dahisar East (for the entire western part of Mumbai)
Thane East
Thane West
Vashi
Airoli

If they didn't do this intentionally, at least Dahisar, Thane East, Thane West, etc., which are not separated by water bodies or any physical barriers, could have had numerous small roads connecting them without any limitations.

Are there any cities in the South with such poor connectivity from the outside? Even smaller tier-2 cities have numerous entry points, with even small roads and streets providing access to the city. This helps distribute traffic effectively.

[GTO]

As an enthusiast, I am super duper happy to hear this . Not because it will cut travel time to Pawna & Pune (which I visit often), but because the mountain roads will be emptier now.

I absolutely love driving down the Lonavla ghat with its fast corners & well-designed layout. Something like this has the potential to reduce traffic on it by 80%. I reckon the only people then on the ghat roads will be holidaygoers staying at Lonavla / Khandala.

[GTE]

Keep your credit card ready, the 'authorities' like nothing more than filling the coffers. They will soon litter all the roads with cameras when they realise that the return on investment is better than even crypto at its best.

[ohaak]

Truckers need to stop using the right lane, that doesn't register with them.

The tired taxi drivers would honk and rush past you just to jam the brakes 100 meters in front due to traffic, but they won't let you merge.

My record for reaching Lonavala exit from the Khalapur food plaza is 2.5 hours at 2AM in the night a couple of months ago. I was picking up a relative from the Mumbai airport. There was no accident, just road repairs forcing all trucks to fall back to the lower gears and cars filling in all possible gaps.

There is a lack of defensive driving and there is a lack of lane discipline. Unless those two issues are resolved, I don't see how the tunnels will ease congestion. I hope there are enough precautions and provisions made to deal with accidents and such in the sections.

[turbospooler]

There are 3 major infrastructure developments which many Punekars are awaiting with baited breath:
i) The Missing link: From Baner, I reach the Khalapur toll plaza in an hour. I will most probably save 10-15 mins while going to Mumbai, but the time saving is going to be huge as it takes around 1.5-2 hours while driving from Khalapur to Pune.
ii) The Trans-Harbour link: Directly from Panvel, one can reach South Bombay very very quickly.
iii) Navi Mumbai Airport: With all the dilly-dallying of Pune Airport's future (Purandar etc), residents of Pune in the Western side can ignore this airport completely as it will take atleast 2 hours to reach. Instead, we can go to Navi Mumbai Airport directly (1 hour or so). Plus, the name Mumbai means there will be more international and domestic connections than Pune Airport can dream of.

The 1st & 2nd roads will be done by next year, which is a blessing in itself!

[tushar_j]

Originally Posted by GTE

As a lot of you may know there is going to be a new short cut just before Lonavla. This is a brilliant idea & will definitely ease the congestion which is now the rule rather than the exception. As this has completely different roads for both directions, I think it would have been much better had they given priority for the completion of the road towards Pune as 99%of the congestion is when climbing rather than descending. This would have ensured that it is usable much sooner. However that would mean the ability to think out of the box which obviously is not covered in the civil service examination.

I agree with you. Given the situation, one upside I can see is - both sides of the highway for the climbing part will be one-way, same-way. So one side can be restricted only for trucks, and other side for small vehicles.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by turbospooler

ii) The Trans-Harbour link: Directly from Panvel, one can reach South Bombay very very quickly.

I am from Dadar and hence this one is going to be a real blessing, beyond this once the Worli sealink connector is made, everyone beyond south mumbai can also use the trans-harbour link.

Trans-Harbour link is ready on the sea, i beleive the infra on the bridge is remaining.

The biggest gain from missing link is safe passage during rains when there is always a fear of landslides happening.

[adi.mariner]

All the ongoing construction will be really great to use once it is completed. Hopefully this doesn't translate into an exorbitant Toll fee. At ₹320 for 90 odd kilometres (+ any irrelevant speeding challans) the Mumbai Pune Expressway is one of the costliest toll roads in the country.