Mumbai: Infrastructure company Afcons on Thursday said it is building the country's highest road cable-stayed bridge on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link project. The 132-metre high bridge will be 650 metres long and will be the highest for any road project in the country, according to an official statement.

Afcons is executing the package-II of the 19-km missing link project, and the package comprises widening of the existing expressway from six lanes to eight lanes, construction of two viaducts, including a cable-stayed bridge in one of the viaducts, approach roads and slip roads.

The missing link, which will take motorists from Khopoli directly to the Sinhagad Institute ahead of Lonavala will reduce the distance of the expressway by 6 km and is aimed for completion by 2024.

Afcons' project manager Ranjit Jha said at present, construction work of the foundation, piers and pylons is being undertaken.

The project faces various geological, transportation, and extreme engineering challenges. For the widening of the existing expressway from six lanes to eight lanes, blasting for hill cutting has to be carried out in allotted slots by the authorities, the statement said.

The package-2 includes widening of 5.86 km existing expressway, including lanes, bridges, vehicular and passenger underpasses, construction of 10.2 km of approach roads and the bridge, the Afcons statement said.

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