New Expressway to Cut Mumbai–Pune Travel Time to 90 Minutes, Mumbai–Bengaluru in 5 Hours: Gadkari

Pune, 4th August 2025: In a major infrastructure push, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced a new expressway project that promises to slash the travel time between Mumbai and Pune to just one and a half hours.

Speaking at the recent Lokmanya Tilak National Award ceremony in Pune, Gadkari outlined the ambitious plan that includes a direct link to Pune’s upcoming ring road, aiming to make intercity travel faster and more efficient.

“This expressway will directly connect with Pune’s ring road. Once operational, the journey between Mumbai and Pune will take just 90 minutes,” Gadkari said.

The new expressway is part of the broader Mumbai–Bengaluru highway corridor and will pass through the Uran constituency. The project is not only expected to reduce travel time for commuters but also ease congestion and enhance connectivity between major urban centers along the route.

Gadkari also noted that the idea for the Atal Setu was conceptualized during his earlier tenure, although the bridge was built under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde.

“While the Atal Setu came into existence during Fadnavis and Shinde’s tenure, its blueprint was laid during my previous term in office,” Gadkari remarked.

The upcoming highway is being seen as a transformative development for Maharashtra’s road infrastructure. Once fully functional, it is expected to:
Reduce Mumbai to Pune travel time to 1.5 hours
Enable Mumbai to Bengaluru travel in approximately five hours
Decongest existing expressways and national highways
Boost economic and industrial growth along the corridor

With rapid urban expansion in both Mumbai and Pune and increasing vehicular pressure on existing routes, this expressway is likely to bring significant relief to daily commuters, logistics operators, and the state’s economy as a whole.