Traffic jam on Pune-Mumbai Expressway leaves vehicles stranded for hours

Mumbai: With a heavy rush due to the Maharashtra Day holiday, the Pune-Mumbai Expressway on Thursday witnessed a massive traffic jam leaving thousands of vehicles stranded, officials said.

Vehicles backed up for about five km in the Bhor Ghat section on the Pune-bound corridor while the traffic flow on the Mumbai-bound corridor was normal though the volume, especially that of cars, was a bit higher than usual, the Expressway control room said.

Traffic control personnel managed to normalise the movement of vehicles on the Pune-bound carriageway before afternoon, said an official.

A passenger who travelled towards Pune to attend a wedding last night said it took their bus more than an hour to cross the Amritanjan Bridge in the ghat section.

The Expressway often witnesses traffic snarls near the bridge as heavy vehicles slow down to negotiate the stiff gradient.

To bypass this section, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is constructing a `missing link' road between the Ghat section and the Singhagad institute to the east of Lonavala.