After a massive traffic snarl on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway that lasted nearly 32 hours was cleared on Thursday, congestion resurfaced early Friday morning, February 6, following a vehicle breakdown near Bhor Ghat. Several vehicles were stranded in the area, bringing traffic to a complete halt during the early hours. Officials said normal traffic movement would resume only after the stuck vehicles are removed. Media reports said long lines of vehicles were seen between the Amrutanjan Bridge and the Khalapur toll plaza. Traffic was crawling in the Khopoli stretch, causing fresh inconvenience and delays for commuters.
Traffic jams on this route have become a routine problem, and the state government has now decided to find a solution. Accordingly, the government is set to prepare a plan for a new Shirur–Chakan–Talegaon–Karjat highway. The number of vehicles heading towards Mumbai has increased significantly. A large volume of vehicles comes from Pune, Kolhapur, and the Marathwada region. As a result, vehicles traveling from Marathwada and Ahilyanagar towards Mumbai now enter the expressway via Lonavala through the Chakan–Talegaon route. This leads to congestion in the Khandala ghat section.
Once the Shirur–Karjat route is developed, heavy vehicles coming from Marathwada will be able to reach Karjat directly via Shirur–Khed, which is expected to reduce traffic congestion on the expressway. This new highway will be developed as a modern four-lane multimodal corridor. The project is estimated to cost ₹12,500 crore and will be 135 km long. The first phase will cover 60 km, while the second phase will include 75 km. The highway will have five tunnels, six major bridges, and 48 minor bridges. Due to diversion of heavy traffic from the industrial belts of Chakan, Talegaon, and Shikrapur, internal traffic congestion in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune city is also expected to reduce.