- Mumbai-Pune Expressway faced severe traffic jams on Mar 26 due to Ram Navami travel surge
- Authorities implemented regulated block release to ease congestion but traffic remained slow
- A gas tanker accident last month caused a 32-hour jam with traffic stretching 20-30 km
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway faced severe gridlock on Thursday (Mar 26) as a surge of holiday travellers for Ram Navami overwhelmed the critical corridor. Visuals from the Bhorghat stretch showed bumper-to-bumper traffic extending over five kilometres, with commuters struggling to reach their destinations.
To manage the bottleneck, the authorities have implemented a regulated block release system, halting and releasing vehicles every 10 minutes to prevent the formation of phantom traffic jams that could further paralyse movement. Despite the intervention, the traffic has been crawling at a snail's pace.
Last month, a gas tanker accident in the Khandala Ghat section caused a 32-hour jam on the expressway. Drone footage showed the full extent of the resulting congestion with the three-lane highway packed solid with vehicles stretching for 20-30 km in places.
After the tanker overturned, the police immediately closed traffic towards Mumbai and diverted vehicles to the Pune-bound side. Despite this, normal movement could not be restored due to the continuous gas leak from the tanker, resulting in long queues and crawling traffic even for Pune-bound motorists.
Dr Sudhir Mehta, chairman of EKA Mobility and Pinnacle Industries, who was stuck in the jam for eight hours, went viral on social media after he took a helicopter to reach Pune.
Check The Viral Clip Here:
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Mumbai-Pune Expressway
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is India's first six-lane, concrete, access-controlled road. It spans a distance of 94.5 km connecting Mumbai, Raigad and Navi Mumbai with Pune. According to data from IRB Infrastructure Trust, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway recorded the highest toll revenue in India in 2024. However, after another jam brought the expressway to a halt, social media users have demanded better efforts from the authorities.
