Pune expressway toll amount to be used to build ‘missing link’
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, undertaking an augmentation project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will, through the project, build a 13.3-km link, which is expected to cut travel time between the cities by 25 minutes.
The toll you pay to reach Pune from Mumbai in the coming decade will be used to reduce your travel time as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will divert the funds for construction of the ‘missing link’ project.
MSRDC, undertaking an augmentation project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, will, through the project, build a 13.3-km link, which is expected to cut travel time between the cities by 25 minutes.
The link will start at Khopoli and lead to Kusgaon at the Pune-end of the expressway through an interchange. This will help motorists bypass the ghat section, the most critical part of the route, where heavy vehicles slow down traffic. The link is likely to be operational by 2023.
MSRDC, the state’s nodal agency for road projects, is currently in the process of finalising a contractor for operating the toll booths after the contract of the current operator, Mhaiskar Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (MIPL), came to an end this month.
Vijay Waghmare, joint managing director, MSRDC, said the new contractor will be expected to make an upfront payment of Rs 6,300 crore, followed by three instalments of Rs 1,000 crore each, over 11 years.
“The first tranche of payment will be utilised for the missing link project. We have already started work on-ground. The project will cut down travel time and benefit many commuters,” said Waghmare, who is overseeing the project.
MSRDC has rights to collect toll at the expressway till 2045, owing to the implementation of the ‘missing link’ project.
MIPL had won the bid in 2004 by making an upfront payment of Rs 918 crore.