NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MP Supriya Sule was among hundreds of commuters caught in a long traffic jam on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Thursday while
travelling to Pune. Sule was heading from Mumbai to attend a Maharashtra Day event when her vehicle got stuck in heavy congestion. The traffic build-up was caused by a mix of weekend rush, the state holiday, and ongoing construction work on the highway. Sharing a video from the spot, Sule showed long queues of vehicles and said, “It has been two hours,” highlighting the delay faced by commuters. In the video, she is heard saying, “Namaste, we are stranded here on Mumbai-Pune Expressway since two hours now.” A commuter nearby added, “We left at 7 am from Thane.” Sule responded, “We have become friends now as we speak to each other in this traffic.” Another commuter said, “Maharashtra Day special for us. Traffic here.” Sule then asked another driver, “You left at what time?” The driver replied, “I also left at 7 am from Andheri.” The traffic jam comes as many people were travelling out of Mumbai due to the holiday and long weekend, putting extra pressure on the busy route. The congestion also coincided with the opening of the ‘Missing Link’ project on the Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway. The project, developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, aims to improve connectivity between Mumbai and Pune by reducing travel distance and time. Addressing a press conference after the inauguration of the Missing Link, Fadnavis said, “I want to apologise to Supriya Sule and other commuters who were stranded due to the inauguration of the Missing Link project.” Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday inaugurated the 13.3-km-long ‘Missing Link’ stretch. Calling it an “engineering marvel”, he said the project would improve road safety and be a major addition to Maharashtra’s infrastructure.
What The Missing Link Offer?
The project will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25–30 minutes, making it one of the biggest infrastructure projects. The tunnels span 1.75 kilometres and 8.92 kilometres, enhancing safety and traffic flow, particularly in the accident-prone ghat section.
