Pune: The proposed 10-laning work of the Pune-Mumbai expressway is unlikely to begin this year because of the cabinet infrastructure committee’s directive to the MSRDC to conduct additional surveys related to its expansion.The fresh exercise is expected to take at least a month. “It will delay the finalisation of the plan,” an official of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said.The state govt had earlier given in-principle approval to the expressway expansion to create a uniform 10-lane corridor. The proposal is yet to receive clearance from the cabinet infrastructure committee. The 13km connecting link has 10 lanes.The MSRDC had planned to start the expressway expansion work after monsoon. “Now it is not expected to start in September, as per the earlier timeline,” another MSRDC official said.The corporation had earlier proposed to execute the expressway expansion in phases so that the construction activity did not disrupt the traffic on the busy corridor. Officials had estimated that if the work began this year, the widening could be completed within three years, by 2029-30. The fresh survey would put that timeline under pressure, the official said.The MSRDC’s proposal is not limited to adding lanes to the expressway. It is aimed at both strengthening the existing 24-year-old carriageway and expanding its capacity to 10 lanes.According to sources, land acquisition for the 10-laning of the expressway would not be an issue. The MSRDC has most of the required land in its possession. Only small additional pockets, particularly around tunnels, would have to be acquired.The traffic pressure on the 94.6-km expressway, connecting Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai to Kiwale near Pune, currently carries around 65,000 vehicles on weekdays and over a lakh on weekends. Traffic has been growing at an annual rate of 5-6%, increasing the congestion and the travel time.The expressway widening is estimated to cost around Rs14,260 crore. With no specific allocation for it in the state budget, the MSRDC proposed raising funds through financial institutions. To support repayment of the financing, the corporation proposed extending the toll collection on the expressway by 15 years, from the existing 2045 deadline to 2060.Commuters called for expediting the expressway widening work. They stressed the construction should be carried out in phases to prevent bottlenecks.“This is a much awaited proposal to be implemented. I am surprised this has been delayed,’’ said B R Rao, a regular commuter.
