Traffic volume on this route is substantial, with around 65,000 vehicles using it daily and numbers rising to nearly 100,000 on weekends and during long holidays. (Source: File) With the Missing Link on the Mumbai-Pune expressway opening from May 1, facilitating travel between the cities, Rajesh Patil, joint managing director of MSRDC told The Indian Express that the main aim of the project was to enhance safety. Detailed studies showed that a significant number of accidents were concentrated within a 7 km stretch of the 15-km ghat section, which had a steep downhill gradient of around 6 per cent. In many cases, truck and trailer drivers would shift their vehicles into neutral to coast downhill for 7–8 km without using fuel. However, in neutral gear, effective braking becomes difficult, often causing vehicles to go out of control and resulting in serious accidents. The main aim of the Missing Link project is to enhance safety and prevent accidents,” he said.…