The Mumbai-Pune Expressway witnessed one of its worst traffic snarls in recent weeks. Thousands of commuters were stranded for hours as the congestion stretched from Friday night into Saturday morning. Several videos and social media posts about the traffic jam started surfacing from Friday.
Particularly long queues of vehicles formed in the Khopoli and Lonavala Ghat areas, where slopes and curves already increase traffic congestion. According to local media reports, some commuters complained that numerous trucks and heavy vehicles were blocking lanes which further slowed down traffic.
Lonavala: Heavy Traffic Jam on Pune-Mumbai Expressway in Khandala Ghat
A heavy traffic jam on the Pune–Mumbai Expressway in the Khandala Ghat section has left vehicles stranded for over an hour on Saturday, around 11 am.
Long queues formed as the flow of vehicles slowed to a… pic.twitter.com/qQJbYJ4I3z
— Punekar News (@punekarnews) November 15, 2025 One user on X described the expressway as hosting a “full traffic festival”. Tagging authorities, the user wrote that he was “done with this chaos subscription”. By 11 AM, the same user posted another update and shared a Google Maps screenshot that showed a long red stretch indicating severe congestion. Both the old Mumbai-Pune highway and the expressway were heavily choked near the ghat sections, areas that typically slow down during weekends but were reportedly far worse this time.
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One user advised motorists on the old highway to monitor engine temperature and clutch plates during such prolonged jams, especially on steep slopes where vehicles often overheat. Another noted that travel time had shot up to 7-8 hours on a journey that normally takes under three hours.
Weekend travel plans ruined
With weekend outbound traffic expected to increase, netizens urged people to think before heading out and reconsider road plans until conditions improve. Authorities have yet to issue an official statement on the exact cause of the massive slowdown. However, regular weekend rush combined with patchwork repairs and heavy ghat traffic are likely to have contributed to the prolonged gridlock. |
