MUMBAI PUNE EXPRESSWAY
The Mumbai Pune Expressway (Marathi: मुंबई-पुणे द्रुतगती मार्ग), officially the Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway (Marathi: यशवंतराव चव्हाण द्रुतगती मार्ग) is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed, access controlled tolled expressway.[1] It spans a distance of 93 km (58 mi) connecting Mumbai, the administrative capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India, with Pune, an industrial hub[citation needed]. This expressway introduced new levels of speed and safety in automobile transportation to Indian roads.[2]
The expressway has reduced the travel time between the cities of Mumbai and Pune to approximately two hours. For most practical purposes, it has replaced the older Mumbai-Pune stretch of the Mumbai-Chennai National Highway (NH 4), which had become extremely congested and accident-prone over time. The expressway starts at Kalamboli (near Panvel) and ends at Dehu Rd. (near Pune). It cleaves through the scenic Sahyadri mountain ranges via passes (Marathi: घाट) and tunnels. It has five interchanges Kon (Shedung), Chowk, Khalapur, Kusgaon and Talegaon.
MUMBAI PUNE EXPRESSWAYMAP
The expressway has two carriageways with three concrete lanes each separated by a central divider and a tarmac or concrete shoulder on either side. Vehicles with fewer than four wheels and agricultural tractors are not permitted, although tractor-trailers (semi-trailer rigs are permitted). The expressway handles about 30,000PCUs daily, and is designed to handle up to 1,000,000 PCUs.
