It was supposed to be the day the distance between Maharashtra’s two biggest hubs finally “shrank.” Instead, the much-anticipated inauguration of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway ‘Missing Link’ transformed the much-frequented route in Maharashtra into a heat trap dotted with stalled engines and frustrated commuters.

As of 10:50 AM Friday, commuters reported a total standstill, with some stranded since the stroke of midnight. The irony was lost on no one: a project designed to save 20 minutes of travel time resulted in delays exceeding five hours for hundreds of travelers.

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, who was herself caught in the jam, shared a video of the kilometre-long jam. Pointing out that such delays are a regular problem in the ghat. Sule urged the Devendra Fadnavis-led government to improve traffic management and find a lasting solution.

The Ground Reality: Heat, Tempers, and ‘Ice on Heads’

The visuals from the Khandala Ghat tell a story of absolute gridlock. What is usually a scenic climb turned into a sea of brake lights. With the overall temperatures rising as we enter May, the frustration on the ground has shifted from mild annoyance to a literal boiling point.

“We started at 7:00 AM from Andheri, thinking we’d beat the rush. We are still here, and now the car has overheated and broken down,” shared one exhausted traveler on X. Multiple reports of smoking engines have surfaced as vehicles struggle with the stop-and-go climb in peak heat.

Trending posts from the scene have taken a sardonic turn. One viral advisory warned Mumbaikars: “Either avoid traveling altogether or head out to make new friends with ice on your head!” Travelers who left late Thursday night found themselves caught in a “pre-game” jam that never cleared, with families seen stepping out of cars just to stretch their legs on the main road.

The Bottleneck: Ceremonial Delays

The 13-km six-lane road between Khopoli and Lonavala, built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), was meant to ease traffic in the Khandala Ghat area and cut travel time.

However, on the day of its launch, the new road was not opened to the public until the completion of formal inauguration by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The closure of the much-anticipated road to all public for an inauguration by the Deputy CM forced all vehicles to move along the old ghat road during peak morning traffic, worsening the Ghat jam for hundreds of travellers.

‘The Link is Missing… and so is our Friday’

On social media, the popular sentiment is clear: the optics of keeping a bypass road closed for a photo-op while citizens suffer in the heat is not sitting well. While police officials maintain that traffic was eased instantly after the ribbon was cut, for the hundreds currently stuck between Khopoli and Lonavala, the damage to their long weekend is already done.

Capturing the tension of being stuck in traffic for hours in simmering heat due to “lack of better coordination for scheduling the inauguration” one user shared visuals of the jam on X with the comment “The Link is missing …. And so is our Friday.”