Mumbai’s long-pending plan to expand the Mumbai-Pune Expressway from six to 10 lanes has moved a step closer, with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) submitting a revised funding proposal to the state government. If approved, the project is expected to be implemented through the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, with construction likely to begin next year and be completed by 2030.
The revised proposal centres on the financial viability of the project, with MSRDC estimating that toll revenue generated from existing traffic over a defined concession period would be sufficient to recover both construction and operational costs.
Rising traffic is driving the need for expansion
The 94.6-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway, connecting Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai with Kiwale near Pune, became operational in 2002 and was originally designed for a 30-year service life. However, traffic volumes have risen sharply over the past two decades.
The corridor now carries nearly 65,000 vehicles on weekdays and over one lakh vehicles on weekends, with annual traffic growth estimated at 5-6%. The upcoming international airports in Mumbai and Pune are also expected to add further pressure on one of India’s busiest access-controlled highways.
Traffic management likely to be the biggest challenge
While widening the expressway is expected to improve long-term traffic flow, executing the project without disrupting daily movement will be one of the biggest engineering challenges.
Unlike new highway construction, the expansion will have to be carried out while maintaining traffic on an operational corridor that handles tens of thousands of vehicles every day, particularly heavy weekend traffic between Mumbai and Pune.
If the state government approves the revised proposal this year, MSRDC plans to invite bids under the BOT model before awarding the project. The expansion is expected to significantly increase the expressway’s capacity, improve travel efficiency and support growing passenger and freight movement between Maharashtra’s two largest urban centres over the coming decades.