Pune, 5th February 2026: Traffic on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway was finally restored around 2 am after remaining disrupted for nearly 32 hours due to a major accident near the Adoshi tunnel.
While authorities succeeded in reopening the Pune–Mumbai carriageway, the long wait left hundreds of commuters exhausted and frustrated after spending hours stuck in unmoving traffic.
The disruption began when a tanker carrying highly inflammable propylene gas overturned near the tunnel, forcing officials to immediately halt traffic towards Mumbai as a safety precaution. Emergency teams safely transferred the gas into another tanker before removing the damaged vehicle with the help of cranes, a process that took several hours.
Even after the tanker was cleared, commuters continued to face delays. A truck broke down near Malavli, and several heavy vehicles remained stationary near Kamshet, with some drivers stopping due to fatigue. Highway police were seen waking up drivers and pushing vehicles forward, leading to intermittent stoppages despite the route being officially reopened.
The prolonged traffic jam on Tuesday and Wednesday resulted in kilometre-long queues, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded on the expressway. Office-goers, business owners, and professionals commuting daily between Pune and Mumbai were among the worst affected, as their work schedules were thrown completely off track.
Many commuters reported missing important meetings and office hours. Amol Deshmukh, an IT professional, said, “I travel to Mumbai by the expressway almost every day. Today, the vehicle did not move for nearly three hours. I had an important client meeting, but I couldn’t make it on time. It affected my work directly.”
Expressing his anger on social media platform X, Harsh Doshi said he was stuck at the same spot for almost six hours without any clarity. He added that there was no information about when the route would reopen or what the exact issue was.
Another commuter, Vighnesh Rane, said he remained stranded for more than eight hours. According to him, traffic began moving slowly only after 12.30 am, even as police continued their efforts to ease the congestion.
The disruption forced some travellers to abandon their journeys altogether. Hitoshi Das, who was travelling from Mumbai to Pune for work, said he had to leave his bus midway and return to Mumbai after being stuck for hours.
Although traffic has now returned to normal, the incident has once again exposed how a single accident on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway can bring life between the two cities to a standstill, leaving daily commuters to bear the brunt of the disruption.
