Maharashtra’s 13.3-km Missing Link bypass, featuring twin record-setting tunnels and India’s tallest cable-stayed road bridge, opened on Maharashtra Day, completing the Mumbai–Pune Expressway after 23 years. Bypassing the challenging Khandala Ghat stretch, the Missing Link project features India’s tallest road cable-stayed bridge — a 650-metre-long viaduct that has emerged as a landmark of modern highway engineering. Executed by Afcons Infrastructure, the viaduct is supported by 182-metre-high pylons — taller than the Bandra–Worli Sea Link’s 128-metre pylons — making it the tallest bridge structure built for an Indian road project. Designed with four carriageways, the bridge is supported by 240 cables.The Package II of the Missing Link Project, executed by Afcons, comprises two eightlane viaducts, 850 metres and 650 metres long, along with the widening of the expressway from six to eight lanes over 5.86 km, and the construction of more than 10 km of approach and slip roads.Navayuga Engineering executed the project’s twin eight-lane tunnels spanning 1.75 km and 8.92 km. Driven 182 m beneath Lonavala Lake, the longer bore is among Asia’s longest road tunnels, while the 22.33-m-wide tunnels earned a Guinness record as the world’s widest underground tunnel.Using NATM and controlled blasting, tunnelling progressed beneath the live expressway and Lonavala Lake with minimal disruption. Navayuga Engineering built cross passages every 300 m and logistics adits, excavating 8.5 million tonne of rock and placing 7,600 tonne of steel, 0.11 million cu m of shotcrete and 0.22 million cu m of pavement concrete over nearly 9 million manhours.The tunnel interior features variable speed-limit gantries, incident-detection cameras and full-length LED lighting. Safety systems include SCADA-based monitoring, jet-fan ventilation, fire detection and emergency egress, reflecting modern standards for high-capacity road tunnels.Fact sheet Project Missing Link, Mumbai–Pune Expressway (Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway Capacity Augmentation) Location Khopoli Exit (Raigad) to Kusgaon (Pune district), Maharashtra Length 13.3 km greenfield bypass + 6.5 km capacity augmentation Configuration 8-lane, access-controlled Project Cost Rs 7,181 crore (revised; originally sanctioned at Rs 4,797.57 crore on 2015-16 SoR) Client / Developer MSRDC Mode EPC General Consultant Geodata–LB Consortium EPC – Package I (Tunnels) Navayuga Engineering Company EPC – Package II (Viaducts & Capacity Augmentation) Afcons Infrastructure Letter of Acceptance 30 August 2018 Civil Works Commenced February–March 2019 Inauguration 1 May 2026 (Maharashtra Day) Distance Saved Approximately 6 km Travel Time Saved 20–30 minutes Design Speed 120 km/h