Khandala Ghat : How a 19 km stretch brought India’s busiest 94 km expressway to its knees

At the centre of the problem is the Khandala ghat, a short but critical section of the highway.

Why Khandala Ghat matters

Khandala has always been the main road crossing between Mumbai and Pune. The Western Ghats form a steep barrier between the coast and the Deccan Plateau, and only a few routes allow vehicles to climb through the hills. The Bhor ghat route passing through Khopoli, Lonavala and Khandala proved to be the most workable option and became the standard crossing.

During British rule, the rail line through Bhor Ghat was built in the mid-nineteenth century, followed by a hill road that later became the old Mumbai-Pune highway. For decades, all road traffic between the two cities used this winding ghat road despite its sharp curves, steep climbs and frequent disruptions during the monsoon.

Why the Mumbai-Pune expressway followed the same route

When the Maharashtra government planned the Mumbai Pune Expressway in the 1990s, the same geographical limits applied. Any road between the two cities had to cross the Western Ghats. Building a completely new route would have required long tunnels that would require large-scale hill cutting and much higher costs.

Planners therefore chose to upgrade the existing corridor through Khandala. The expressway built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and opened between 2000 and 2002 reduced travel time between the two cities substantially.

While the plains sections were easier to build, the ghat stretch between Khopoli and Kusgaon remained challenging. The ghat section is about 19.8 km long on the 94 km expressway.

Why traffic keeps breaking down

The Khandala ghat now carries a heavy mix of traffic. Tourist vehicles heading to Lonavala and Khandala peak on weekends and holidays, while container trucks, fuel tankers and vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals use the same stretch daily.

The road here has steep slopes, sharp curves, tunnels and very little space on the sides. When accidents involve fuel or chemical tankers, traffic has to be stopped completely for safety reasons. With no alternative route, congestion builds up quickly and spreads over long distances.

This is why even a single accident like the tanker overturning this week can bring traffic to a standstill for hours or even days.

What has been done so far

Authorities have tried to ease pressure at known choke points. One major step was the demolition of the nearly 190-year-old Amrutanjan Bridge in April 2020. Built during the British period, the bridge had become a traffic bottleneck as it was narrower than the rest of the expressway. A structural audit had flagged safety concerns, and the bridge was demolished during the Covid lockdown to improve traffic flow in the ghat section.

However, the expressway has not seen any major lane expansion since it opened as a six-lane road in 2002. While safety upgrades such as better tunnel signage, barricading and surveillance have been added, the main carriageway remains unchanged.

What lies ahead

MSRDC has proposed widening parts of the expressway to eight and eventually ten lanes, but these plans are still to be completed. Widening the ghat section itself is difficult due to terrain and environmental limits.

Instead, the state has taken up the Mumbai Pune Expressway Missing Link project, which aims to bypass the Khandala ghat through tunnels and viaducts. Once completed, the new route is expected to reduce travel time and prevent large-scale disruptions like the one seen this week.

The Maharashtra government post the traffic jam this week, has also asked MSRDC to prepare a dedicated emergency traffic management plan for the expressway.

Until these measures are in place, the Khandala ghat will remain the weakest link on the Mumbai Pune Expressway, where even one accident can bring one of the country’s busiest expressways to a halt.