Mumbai-Pune Expressway landslide: Debris cleared from Tunnel 2; Mumbai-Pune road opens

The MumbaiPune Expressways newly inaugurated Missing Link section remained closed on Monday after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall in the ghat section forced authorities to suspend traffic as a precautionary measureHours later Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis announced that the route was openedIn a post on X Fadnavis wrote Traffic is resumed at the ldquoConnecting Linkrdquo vehicular movement is restored Government is trying its best Stay safe everyoneTraffic is resumed at the ldquoConnecting Linkrdquo vehicular movement is restoredGovernment is trying its bestStay safe everyone Maharashtra monsoonupdates monsoon httpstcoMUKNNrxAnvmdash CMO Maharashtra CMOMaharashtra July 6 2026Maharashtra State Road Transport Development Corporation MSRDC said the debris near Tunnel 2 has been successfully cleared However the expressway stretch will remain shut until a comprehensive safety assessment of the hillside above the tunnel is completedMaharashtra State Road Development Corporation official while speaking to midday said The landslide occurred at the mouth of Tunnel 2 on the PunetoMumbai carriageway of the MumbaiPune Expressway The debris was cleared by around 3 pm following which traffic movement was gradually restored There is absolutely no damage to the road surface or the tunnel structure both remain completely safe The rockfall mitigation measures installed at the treated section are intact The rockslide originated from a higher untreated portion of the hillside Continuous heavy rainfall made debris removal challenging and prolonged the clearance operationAuthorities further said that persistent heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region have slowed the inspection process delaying the reopening of the routeThe tunnel section of the MumbaiPune lsquoMissing Linkrsquo section will be reopened to traffic only after all technical and safety evaluations are completed and the area is declared safe for vehicular movement they addedWhile briefing about the reopening of the tunnel and the expressway MSRDC said ldquoThe tunnel will be reopened for traffic only after all safety and technical assessments are completed and the area is declared safe for vehicular movementrdquoThe expressway stretch was closed around midnight on Monday after continuous heavy rainfall lashed the Western Ghats triggering a landslide near Tunnel 2 on the recently inaugurated Missing Link corridor Authorities immediately halted traffic on the affected section to facilitate debris removal and prevent any untoward incidentsTraffic movement openedEarlier the traffic movement on the MumbaiPune Expressways Missing Link was resumed partially on Monday night after authorities reopened two lanes on the PunetoMumbai carriageway following the completion of safety inspectionsOfficials said two lanes of the Connecting Link on the PunetoMumbai corridor were opened to vehicular traffic from 1010 pmAaditya Thackeray Slams Maharashtra GovernmentShiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday criticised the Maharashtra government over the disruption on the recently inaugurated MumbaiPune Expressway Missing Link after a landslide led to the closure of the routeWhile taking it to social media handle X Thackeray questioned the quality of the project noting that the Missing Link was inaugurated on May 1 2026 and claimed that its cost had escalated by thousands of croresMissing link was inaugurated on 1st May 2026For all the ldquoinfra watchers and believersrdquo the cost of this link has been escalated by thousands of croresIt has now had a landslide and much more within 2 months of its checks and inaugurationsMore so using it while on thehellip httpstco4VkMLCDbgImdash Aaditya Thackeray AUThackeray July 6 2026He alleged that the project had already suffered a landslide within two months of its inauguration and inspections Thackeray also claimed that during his recent journey on the route he observed that not even 50 ft of the road is flat alleging the carriageway was undulated and feels like one is sitting in a boat riding the wavesLaunching a sharp attack on the ruling alliance Thackeray alleged that corruption had affected infrastructure projects in the state stating Corruption is the first name of the BJP and Mindhemdashbe it in the roads or even in temples