Maharashtra To Get New Pune-Sambhajinagar Expressway, Elevated Roads Worth Rs 1.50 Lakh Crore

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that road projects worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore have been approved for Maharashtra, marking a major push to the state's infrastructure development. He said the construction work on these projects is expected to begin within the next three months and is slated for completion by 2026.

Speaking to reporters at the Vidhan Bhavan, where the state legislature session is currently underway, Gadkari said the approved projects will significantly improve connectivity across Maharashtra. The Nagpur MP was at the legislature complex to attend an event marking the centenary celebrations of the Vidhan Parishad.

Gadkari said the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) will construct a new Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar expressway at a cost of Rs 16,318 crore, adding that the memorandum of understanding for the project has already been processed. The new expressway is expected to reduce travel time between Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to two hours, while the journey from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Nagpur will take two-and-a-half hours.

The Union minister also said that the 'bhoomipujan' for the Talegaon-Chakan-Shikrapur elevated road project, being built at a cost of Rs 4,207 crore, will be held after the completion of local body elections. He added that the detailed project report (DPR) for the Hadapsar-Yavat elevated road is currently being prepared, and construction will begin once the elections are over.

Gadkari further said that road projects worth Rs 50,000 crore have been approved specifically for the Pune region, with work scheduled to commence in the next three months.

He also announced plans for a parallel expressway to the existing Pune-Mumbai expressway, with an estimated construction cost of Rs 15,000 crore. According to Gadkari, this new route will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Pune to one and a half hours, while the Mumbai-Pune-Bengaluru journey will take five-and-a-half hours.

Reiterating the scale of the infrastructure push, Gadkari said road works worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore have been approved for Maharashtra, and among these projects, work worth Rs 50,000 crore has been allocated to the Public Works Department (PWD).