// Journal · Bridges & tunnels
The Mumbai–Pune Expressway Missing Link is open: twin tunnels and a valley-high bridge
MSRDC's 13.3 km bypass of the Khandala ghat opened on 1 May 2026, with an 8.92 km tunnel certified as the world's widest and a cable-stayed bridge 100 m above the valley.
For more than two decades the Mumbai–Pune Expressway had one stubborn weak point: the winding climb through the Khandala ghat, slow in normal traffic and worse in the monsoon. On Maharashtra Day, 1 May 2026, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) opened the Missing Link that bypasses it.
The structure
- Route: 13.3 km, eight lanes, access-controlled, from Khopoli to Kusgaon — replacing a 19 km ghat section.
- Tunnels: twin tunnels of 8.92 km and 1.75 km. The main tunnel is about 23.3 m wide and has been certified by Guinness as the world's widest underground twin tunnel. It passes below Lonavala lake.
- Tiger Valley bridge: a cable-stayed bridge of roughly 640–650 m, around 100 m above the Khandala valley, plus an 840 m viaduct.
- Builders: Navayuga Engineering on the tunnels; Afcons Infrastructure on the viaducts.
- Cost: approximately ₹7,000 crore.
What drivers gain
The route is about 6 km shorter and saves 25–30 minutes on a normal day — up to an hour in the monsoon — with speeds of up to 120 km/h. The first phase is open to light motor vehicles; buses and heavy vehicles follow in a second phase.
Source: StayVista; background: Mumbai–Pune Expressway, Wikipedia.
