Mumbai, (The Hindu): Taking note of the number of accidents on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the state government on Saturday issued directives to acquire additional land and construct a 12-km long bypass from Khalapur toll naka to Sinhgad Institute. The changes will reduce mishaps on the accident prone stretch and cut the distance by six km, according to a government official.

The 94-km-long, six-lane expressway has been in the news for all the wrong reasons since it was opened to the public in 2002. As many as 4,234 accident resulting in 1,323 deaths have been reported between 2010 and 2015 alone. The numbers reduced marginally after after a slew of emergency services, including ambulances and additional medical help, were introduced over the last two years. The expressway starts from Kalamboli but soon gets into a busy section with traffic jams resulting from the merger of NH4.

The Urban Development Department (UDD) has issued a directive to add land from five villages — Kurvande, Chavani, Adoshi, Bhushi, and Kusgaon — between Mumbai and Pune. “We don't yet know how much land will be added in total but these are mostly to change the alignment of the expressway,” said an UDD official.