5-km long jam at Mumbai-Pune Expressway amid long weekend rush

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway witnessed a massive traffic jam on Thursday, with vehicles lined up for nearly 5 kilometres, as holiday travel surged due to the Ram Navami festival and the extended weekend.

Authorities said the heavy congestion was caused by a sudden spike in vehicular movement. Police personnel were deployed on the stretch to manage the situation, but bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen on the highway. To ease congestion, officials implemented a regulated traffic system, allowing vehicles from one side to move continuously for 10 minutes.

Commuters faced long delays, with slow-moving traffic reported across key sections of the expressway. The situation highlighted recurring congestion issues during peak travel periods.

The disruption also brought back memories of a major incident earlier this year, when a gas tanker overturned near the Adoshi Tunnel in the Khandala Ghat section, causing a complete traffic standstill for nearly 33 hours. The traffic had stretched up to 20 kilometres, affecting over one lakh commuters, many of whom were later granted toll refunds.