Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced on Monday that the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which he constructed 27 years ago, has remained pothole-free since its opening. This statement underscores the minister’s focus on infrastructure accountability and quality in road construction, as he emphasizes the expressway’s durability over nearly three decades.
It’s still pothole-free, but nobody writes about it. “I built the Mumbai-Pune Expressway 27 years ago.
However, when (a structure) at the missing link collapsed recently, I got trolled on social media, despite it being a state government project,” he said in a lighter vein while addressing the ‘Festival of Thinkers’ organised by Symbiosis International University in Pune. “Guess social media is good for quality control,” the BJP MP said, adding that the forest department didn’t grant permission to construct the missing link then. In May, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the much-awaited 13.3-km-long “Missing Link” project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to bypass the steep mountain pass section aimed at improving road safety and reducing travel distance between the two key cities. Meanwhile, emphasising the role of technology in infrastructure management, Gadkari said modern tools such as drones, artificial intelligence, LiDAR and satellite technology should be used to monitor roads and identify defects before they become major issues.
The Union minister further said India’s automobile sector has witnessed significant growth due to advancements in technology, electric vehicles, alternative fuels and biofuels.
Recalling his experience on building the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Gadkari said he had pushed for an eight-lane road considering future traffic requirements, but later felt that a bigger vision was needed after seeing highways abroad.
