Construction work on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway Missing Link continues to progress, with Afcons Infrastructure building India’s highest road cable-stayed bridge near Chaavani in Khalapur, Raigad. The bridge will rise 132 metres above ground and is part of the project designed to bypass the Khandala Ghat section.
According to project officials, the Missing Link will reduce the expressway distance by over six kilometres and cut travel time by more than 25 minutes once completed in 2026. The Sahyadri terrain has made construction particularly challenging, with narrow ridges, sudden high winds, heavy monsoon rainfall, and fog regularly affecting operations.
Engineers are currently constructing 182-metre pylons—taller than those of the Bandra–Worli Sea Link—using a self-climbing shuttering system. Four tower cranes and eight 350-ton cantilever form travellers are being used to build the deck segments with high precision at considerable heights.
The Missing Link Project consists of two packages. Package I includes two eight-lane tunnels measuring 1.75 km and 8.92 km. Package II includes two eight-lane viaducts of 850 metres and 650 metres, widening the expressway from six to eight lanes over 5.86 km, and the construction of more than 10 km of approach and slip roads.
The project aims to offer safer, smoother and more efficient travel for the over 1.5 lakh commuters who use the expressway daily, along with reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
