About
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was India's first access-controlled tolled expressway — a 94.5 km six-lane corridor through the Western Ghats connecting India's commercial capital to Pune. Opened in phases between 2000 and 2002, the expressway transformed Mumbai-Pune travel from an arduous 4-5 hour journey to a 90-minute drive.
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) sanctioned the project in 1997 to relieve the chronically congested NH-4 (now NH-48) through Lonavala and Khandala. Construction was executed in three packages by Reliance Infrastructure and Larsen & Toubro at ₹1,630 crore — a substantial sum at the time. The toll concession is currently with IRB Infrastructure Developers.
The expressway features five major tunnels through the Sahyadri ridges, totalling 5 km of tunnel — at the time the longest road tunnel network in India. The design speed is 120 km/h, with multiple cut-and-fill viaducts on the steep Khandala descent. A separate Missing Link project (sanctioned 2018, partly opened 2024) is reducing the alignment by 6 km via a new tunnel + cable-stayed bridge bypass of the Khandala ghat.
The expressway carries ~70,000 vehicles/day. Its operational success spawned the BoT model that subsequently funded India's nationwide expressway expansion (Yamuna Expressway, Eastern Peripheral, etc.).
Cross-references
14Indian Standards, IRC codes, and InfraLens knowledge articles that bear on this project's design and execution. Each link opens the relevant reference page.
Related calculators
4InfraLens calculators most relevant for expressway projects.
Notable features
- India's first access-controlled tolled expressway (2000-2002)
- Five tunnels through the Western Ghats — 5 km total length
- Cuts Mumbai-Pune travel from 4-5 hours to 90 minutes
- Design speed 120 km/h with multi-tier toll structure
- Missing Link bypass under construction reducing alignment by 6 km via cable-stayed + tunnel