Mumbai-Pune 'Missing Link' Nears Completion: Asia's Widest Tunnel Ready for May Launch

• The Mumbai–Pune Expressway “Missing Link” is a 13.3-kilometre bypass set to ease congestion and improve safety, bypassing the accident-prone 19-km Khandala Ghat.
• The Rs 6,695-crore project aims to eliminate a traffic bottleneck where 10 lanes merge into six, featuring two massive twin tunnels through the Sahyadri mountains.
• Digital creator Aakash Bhavsar showcased the project, highlighting one tunnel as “Asia’s widest” and among the safest in the country, designed with world-class safety systems.
• The 8.9 km long tunnel is said to be the widest and longest highway tunnel globally, with each tunnel having four to five lanes in each direction (8-10 lanes total) and being roughly 23 meters wide.
• Project is 95-98% complete, targeting a May 1 inauguration, expected to save 25-30 minutes of travel time between Mumbai and Pune.