‘Missing Link’ not tourist spot, stopping not allowed: MSRDC to commuters

Pune: A day after the long-awaited Mumbai–Pune Expressway "missing link" was opened to traffic, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) cautioned commuters on Saturday against stopping on the stretch, emphasising that the high-speed corridor is not a tourist or "picnic" spot.Senior MSRDC officials said the entire 13.3km access-controlled stretch is under 24/7 surveillance through an extensive camera network covering the twin tunnels and the cable-stayed bridge."Vehicles halting on the roadway disrupt traffic flow and pose serious safety risks. Strict monitoring is in place, and action will be taken against violators," warned an official. The authorities said they had already captured footage of numerous vehicles stopping on the cable-stayed bridge late Friday evening, following the inaugural event.The authorities have set a maximum speed limit of 100kmph for light motor vehicles (cars) and 80kmph for buses and heavy vehicles within the tunnel and bridge sections. "These are upper limits, not targets. Drivers must adhere to lane discipline and refrain from exceeding these speeds," an official added following a review meeting on the second day of operations.The Rs 6,695-crore project, executed by MSRDC, connects Khopoli to Kusgaon, bypassing the accident-prone and congestion-heavy ghat section between Lonavala and the Khopoli exit. The new alignment reduces the travel distance from 19km to 13.3km, cutting the commute between Mumbai and Pune by 20–30 minutes.The project features world-class engineering, including twin tunnels—among the widest in the world at 23.5 metres—a 1.6km viaduct, and a prominent cable-stayed bridge rising nearly 182 metres above the valley floor.While the Mumbai–Pune carriageway was opened immediately after the inauguration by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, the Pune–Mumbai side remained closed from midnight until early Saturday morning. The closure was required to remove event infrastructure, including large pandals used for the ceremony.The delay drew sharp criticism from commuters and political leaders. MNS leader Abhijit Panse, who was travelling from Pune to Mumbai on Saturday morning, expressed frustration at being forced back onto the old ghat section."While the CM announced that traffic jams would be a thing of the past, the link was closed Saturday morning to remove pandals. This level of fanfare was avoidable and could have been handled digitally to avoid inconveniencing citizens," Panse said. He noted that his journey, which should have taken 2.5 hours, took four hours due to the congestion.Heavy traffic during the inauguration prompted deputy CM Eknath Shinde to direct police to allow vehicles through without toll collection to ease the bottleneck. MSRDC officials confirmed that all stretches were cleared by Saturday afternoon and traffic flow has since stabilised. However, they reiterated that strict compliance with the "no-stopping" rule is essential for the corridor to maintain its promise of faster, safer travel.