The Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) has made progress on the new Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Expressway, which aims to make travel between the two cities faster and easier. At present, it takes about 8 to 10 hours to drive from Pune to Sambhajinagar, but once the expressway is ready, the trip will take only around three hours.
The first phase of the project includes building a flyover between Pune and Shirur. This flyover, already under construction, will help ease the heavy traffic on the busy Pune-Ahmednagar Highway. In the next phase, a new Greenfield road will be built from Shirur to Sambhajinagar. This part will include bypasses around smaller towns and direct routes to major industrial areas.
The tender process for the second phase has begun, and bids are expected to open early next year.
How it will help commuters:
- The new expressway will greatly improve connectivity, making trade and tourism between Western Maharashtra and Central Maharashtra smoother.
- It will boost local economies and create new job opportunities, especially in less developed areas like Beed and Marathwada.
- The long Pune-Sambhajinagar trip, which now takes 8–10 hours, will be cut down to just about three hours.
- Once completed, the expressway will reduce traffic jams on existing highways and improve overall travel across Western and Central Maharashtra.
