FromChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s battlefield to India’s highest road cable stayedbridge, engineers from Afcons battle nature in the Sahyadris.
Morethan 360 years after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s legendary victory againstMughals at the Battle of Umbarkhind, the same Sahyadri mountains are witnessinga new kind of battle — one fought not with swords, but with steel, cables, andconcrete against factors like summer, wind, rain, altitude, and time.
Nearthe quiet village of Chaavani in Khalapur, Raigad, Maratha Warrior KingChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his few hundred Mavalas once outsmarted the30,000 strong army of Mughals. Near the same place, the engineers from AfconsInfrastructure, drawing inspiration from the history, are building India’shighest road cable-stayed bridge, rising 132 metres above ground as part of theMumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link Project. Once complete, the Missing LinkProject will bypass the Khandala Ghat section and will reduce the distance ofthe expressway by over six kilometres reducing travel time by more than 25minutes.
But,the journey to completion hasn’t been easy. “The bridge, which will becompleted in 2026, is being built in the Sahyadri region, which is challengingand historic, with the Sahyadri range presenting extraordinary difficulties. Narrowridges leave no room for heavy machinery. Wind speeds can lead from a gentlebreeze to violent 100km/h blast in minutes. During monsoon, rainfall turns thecliffs into cascading sheets of water, halting work instantly. Fog rolls inwithout warning, reducing visibility to a few meters,” said Ranjan KumarMishra, Project Director, Afcons.
“Workingat such heights, construction activities, welding, and segment lifting requireextraordinary precision, courage, and patience. Engineers and workers, oftenpositioned on narrow ledges above deep valleys, operate with world-class safetyand quality standards and advanced construction methodologies to maintain bothspeed and accuracy,” said R Anantakumar, Director, Chief Operating Officer,Afcons.
TheMumbai–Pune Expressway Missing Link Project is divided into two packages. PackageI includes two eight-lane tunnels measuring 1.75 km and 8.92 km. Package IIcomprises two eight-lane viaducts, 850 metres and 650 metres long, along withthe widening of the expressway from six to eight lanes over 5.86 km, and theconstruction of over 10 km of approach and slip roads.
PackageII, which includes the 650-metre-long, will feature India’s tallest roadcable-stayed bridge, is being executed by Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. At 650mviaduct, engineers are constructing 182-metre (597 feet) high pylons, tallerthan the 128-metre (413 feet) pylons of the Bandra–Worli Sea Link, and thehighest ever bridge built for an Indian road project.
Theconstruction of the pylon shaft was carried out upward using a self-climbingshuttering system, defying gravity and the strong winds of the Sahyadris. Forbuilding the deck segments, four tower cranes at a height of 182 meters worktogether with eight 350-ton cantilever form travellers (CFTs).
Advancinggradually through open space, they construct the bridge’s deck segments one byone. The 182-meter pylons visible from afar will form part of a bridge risingover a deep valley, and, therefore, each deck segment is being built withexceptional precision.
TheSahyadris, once Shivaji Maharaj’s ally in battle, now challenge the ingenuityof modern India’s engineers. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj won the battle usingterrain through strategy, while the engineers are conquering it throughengineering structure.
Project at a Glance:
Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link Project (Package-II).
Bridge height: 132 metres (India’s tallestroad cable-stayed bridge).
Tallest pylon: 182 metres.
Viaduct I length: 850 metres.
Viaduct II (cable-stayed)length: 650metres.
Expressway widening: From 6.0 to 8.0 lanes over5.86 km.
Approach roads: 10.2 km.
Project benefits:
• Reduces distance by 6.0 km.
• Cuts travel time by 25 minutes.
• Lowers fuel use and emissions.
• Safer, smoother, more fuel-efficient travel to over 1.5 lakh commuters daily.
Engineersand workers, often positioned on narrow ledges above deep valleys, operate withworld-class safety and quality standards and advanced constructionmethodologies to maintain both speed and accuracy.”
- R Anantakumar,
Director,
Chief Operating Officer,
Afcons Infrastructure Ltd.