Toll operators have revised charges after a long duration of 3 years as per a government gazette. Meanwhile, as per reports, toll collection has been resumed too after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) gave a go-ahead on Sunday. Revised toll charges have come into effect on the Mumbai-Pune expressway as well which is considered as one of the busiest highways in our country. The revised toll charges have been applied to all the vehicle categories and they witness a substantial increase as compared to the previous toll charges.
Also read: Amrutanjan Bridge Demolished To Ease Mumbai-Pune Expressway Snarl
Charges for LMVs which include cars, jeeps and vehicles with a capacity of 12 passengers were increased from Rs 230 to Rs 270 while the fares for minibuses have seen a spike from Rs 355 to Rs 420; and buses, from Rs 675 to Rs 797. Mumbai-Pune Expressway recently made news when the 189-year old Amrutanjan bridge was demolished to ease the traffic flow.
Since the expressway is now shut for general traffic because of the lockdown, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation took the opportunity to bring the structure down, at a cost of INR 50 lakh. On a normal day when traffic is never thin even for a minute on the busy route, it would have otherwise cost the organization a massive INR 4 crore to complete the job. Goes without saying, the job would’ve required shutting down the busy route for many days. As of now, the demolition job has been executed and until cleaning activity is complete, emergency vehicles have been routed through the old Khandala route.
Explaining the demolition, a senior MSRDC official said, “The entire Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which is around 100 km, has six lanes. But the wide pillars of the Amrutanjan Bridge had made some stretch near it a four-lane road. The pillars had occupied the space of an entire lane on both sides, which used to slow down the traffic. The bridge would have completed 190 years in November this year. But since it was causing a lot of hindrance to the traffic on the expressway, it was demolished using explosives.”
The six-lane expressway between Mumbai and Pune was the most technologically advanced piece of road when it was first opened to traffic. It goes through well-lit and long tunnels which have been fitted with advanced ventilation systems and escape routes.