MSRDC awarding ₹5,300 cr Mumbai-Pune e-way contract

In order to provide top-class road connectivity between the twin cities of Mumbai and Pune, the MSRDC is all set to award ₹5,300 crore project. The bids for the project were opened recently with Afcons Infrastructure and Navyuga Engineering emerging as the lowest bidders for viaducts and tunnels respectively and the work will start shortly after the upcoming monsoon season. The project involves the construction of a 13.3-km-long road, which will start from the Khopoli underpass and end near Sinhgad Institute at Kusgaon on the expressway. The link will shorten the distance between the two cities by six kilometers and is expected to reduce the average travel time by 25 minutes. The eight-lane road will be almost a straight road and comprise two sections of viaducts (measuring 700 metres and 750 metres) and two tunnel sections measuring 1.4 km and 8.9 km, MSRDC, sources said. There will be two four-lane viaducts and two four-lane tunnels in each section. The link will eliminate six sharp curves and reduce the gradient of the route considerably and will go a long way in easing the congestion along the entire expressway.