Mumbai-Pune expressway safety: Brifen wire rope project on fast track

After a series of mishaps and deaths on Mumbai-Pune expressway, state seems to be waking up slowly to take some preventive steps. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has floated bids to invite developers for the installation of Brifen wire ropes at a few spots along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Once these ropes are installed, travelling along the route could be a much safer affair.
A pilot project for the same was carried out in March this year, along a 2.5km stretch at Kamshet. Following its success, plans were made to use the wire rope along the entire 95-km-long expressway. The wire ropes will help hold back a vehicle which would have otherwise gone out of control, jumping the median and crashing into oncoming traffic from the opposite direction.
However, now MSRDC has decided to use the ropes only at accident-prone locations, which cover a distance of 12kms. At present, 15 of such locations have been identified for installation, at an estimated cost of Rs4.94 crore. The length of the rope at each location will vary from 500 metres to a kilometre.
The death of Marathi actors Anand Abhyankar and Akshay Pendse in an accident in December 2012 and similar such mishaps have prompted the authorities to think of installing these Brifen rope wires on the expressway on a pilot basis. Their car was hit by a vehicle that had lost control and entered the opposite lane.