Work begun on highway to cut Pune-Bengaluru travel time to just 5 hours, Mumbai-Pune to 90 minutes: Nitin Gadkari
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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday announced that construction has already begun on a new Mumbai-Pune highway, which will cut travel time between the two cities to just one and a half hours.The Union Minister also announced that the proposed highway will then head towards Bengaluru, cuting the travelling time to the Southern IT city to five hours from Pune."A new Mumbai-Pune highway is being constructed, which will start from the beautifully constructed Atal tunnel — planning for which was done during my time — to the proposed Pune Ring Road and reduce travel time between Mumbai to Pune to one and a half hours. The work has already started as I don't have time to lay the foundation stone. This highway will then head towards Bengaluru reducing the travel time to five hours from Pune to there," said Gadkari at an event in Pune.Recently, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 29 National Highway projects covering 272 km, with an investment of over Rs 5,233 crore, along with Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma, Deputy CM, Pawan Kalyan, Union MoS Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, MPs, MLAs, and senior officials in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh.Gadkari also highlighted a significant drop in India's logistics cost. Improved road infrastructure has brought logistics costs down from 16 per cent to 10 per cent, and is projected to reach 9 per cent by December 2025. This reduction is expected to double exports and boost employment. He noted that the length of National Highways under NHAI has increased by 120 per cent, from 4,000 km in 2014 to 8,700 km in 2025, demonstrating the government's strong focus on infrastructure-led economic growth.The Madanapalle to Pileru stretch of NH-71 has been transformed into a modern 4-lane corridor spanning 56 kms, constructed at a cost of Rs 1,994 Crore. This significant upgrade includes 9 flyovers, a rail overbridge, 19 major bridges, 5 vehicular underpasses, and 10 local underpasses.Similarly, the Kurnool to Mandlem section of NH-340C has been upgraded to a 4-lane road with paved shoulders over 31 kms, featuring one flyover, 4 viaducts, 3 local underpasses, and a minor underpass, at a cost of Rs 858 crore.Alongside these developments, foundation stones are being laid for 27 additional projects aimed at enhancing connectivity across Andhra Pradesh. These will improve access to religious sites like Tirupati, Srisailam, and Kadiri, and tourist destinations such as Horsley Hills and Vodarevu Beach. Seamless links to economic hubs, Sri City, Krishnapatnam Port, and Tirupati Airport will be established.
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