• Source:JND
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Mumbai -Pune Expressway:  The first high-speed expressway in the nation is the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. In 1999, a portion of the expressway was made accessible to the general public, and by 2002, the whole stretch was completely functional. The expressway has been accessible to the public for 25 years. It connects Pune at one end and Mumbai, India's financial centre, at the other.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the prime minister at the time, contributed a substantial sum of money to develop the Mumbai-Pune expressway. An estimated Rs 1,630 crore was spent on the development of this expressway, according to media estimates. Spanning 94.5 kilometres, it begins in the Kalamboli neighbourhood of Navi Mumbai and ends at Kiwale, Pune.

The expressway, which was built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), reduces the three-hour travel time between two cities to just one hour. It's crucial to remember that the expressway toll is raised by 6 percent annually, with a cumulative increase of 18 percent after every three years.

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It was last changed in April 2023, when the toll was raised to Rs 320 from Rs 270 and Rs 495 for vehicles such as minibuses and tempos instead of the existing Rs 420.

The present toll of Rs 585 for two-axle vehicles has been raised to Rs 685. Buses used to pay Rs 797, but now they pay Rs 940. According to officials, the toll charges won't be altered after the three-year milestone in 2026 and will stay the same until 2030.

Meanwhile, the goal of Vision 2047 is to increase the current 4,000 km of access-controlled high-speed national highways to 50,000 km.