Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said the construction of missing link road on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway would be complete by December next year.
The road will connect Khalapur Toll Booth point with Kusgaon, bypassing the entire ghat (hill) section of the Expressway. It is expected to cut the travel time between Pune and Mumbai by half-an-hour.
This will be a landmark project in the country, as it has used modern technology which is currently used in some foreign countries. The width of the tunnel is 23.75 meters, making it the widest tunnel in the world. Measures have been taken to prevent fire incidents inside, he said.
Both the tunnels will be around 1,500-meter-long and the digging for 1,400 meters has been completed. The road is expected to be open for use by December 2023, the CM said.