Portion of e-way near Adoshi tunnel sinks

Pune: Officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) found on Friday that a portion of Pune-Mumbai expressway near Adoshi tunnel had sunk about a month ago.

An official of MSRDC said, “First time a stretch near Adoshi has sank. This kind of emergency-like situation has come to fore, for the first time in one or two years.”

During regular inspection, the officials found that the area of around 400 meters near Adoashi tunnel sank a month ago. Officials are still trying to ascertain the reason behind the incident. The official said, “The expressway cuts through Western Ghat and Sahyadris. For the construction of the expressway, the hills of the ghat were broken down and the same stones were used for levelling. The changes to the structure of hills could be one of the reasons behind the stretch sinking in.”

On the condition of anonymity, a senior MSRDC executive engineer said, “The Expressway was built in 2002. And since then approximately 50,000 vehicles including heavy vehicles ply on the road daily. It was natural that some damage would have taken place.”

MSRDC has appointed a team of scientists to find out a way to repair the damage. It will submit details of the study within 15 days.

J G Mungilvar, executive engineer, MSRDC, Pune, said, “Within 2-3 years the proposed bypass from Khopoli to Sinhgad institute via underground tunnel will be completed and open for commuters. Then the use of the existing tunnel will decrease tremendously. Till that time, the concerned problem will be repaired.”