The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is trouble-free 27 year after it was opened, the minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday, responding to a recent allegation of potholes on the road’s Missing Link project.
Addressing at the ‘Festival of Thinkers’ organised by Symbiosis International University, Pune, Gadkari pointed out that the structure collapsed near The Missing Link, though it was under the state government, and was the subject of mockery on social media. Social media could be a “quality control” tool, he said, adding that it would be “oddly appropriate.”
The new project hope to speed up road connectivity between Mumbai and Pune is the 13.3 km Missing Link project inaugurated in May by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to bypass the steep mountain section between the two cities and enhance road safety. Later, a landslide was reported near Tunnel 2, which happened due to heavy rainfall during July.
For the roads, the use of modern technologies like Drones, AI, LiDAR, and satellite image should be promoted to identify faults, before they escalate to serious issues, he said.
He also urged planning infrastructure projects for 25-50 years, and not just short-term needs. He recalled the time when Mumbai-Pune Expressway was built and said future traffic demands have influenced the planning of the road.
Strong infrastructure is vital to industry, trade, tourism and employment growth and lower transportation costs, Nitin Gadkari told Misu.
He also emphasized research, innovations and build-up of entrepreneurial attitude and skill development in transforming the knowledge to “wealth”.
Gadkari said that projects with an estimated cost of Rs 60,000 crore have been planned for Pune. He emphasized that environmental protection and sustainable development should be incorporated in development hand in hand with technological advancement.