With Pune-Mumbai Expressway’s Missing Link set to be inaugurated on May 1, authorities have put in place an elaborate system for emergency response and enforcement, including twin control rooms, SOS facilities, patrol teams and surveillance.The length of the existing Mumbai-Pune Expressway stretch from Khopoli exit to Sinhgad Institute is presently over 19 km. This distance will be reduced to 13.3 km because of the Missing Link, effectively reducing the total length of expressway by six km. With the Ghat section out of the way, travel time will be reduced by 20-25 minutes. Missing Link is divided in two packages, according to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. Package-I consists of eight-lane twin tunnels, 1.75 km and 8.92 km long respectively, and Package-II consists of eight lane two viaducts of length 790 metres and 650 metres. Here is a closer look at the key features, preparedness and also the challenges and concerns ahead.Core infrastructure and safety systems“We have set up two multi-agency control rooms near the end points of the Missing Link. Teams from Highway police, MSRDC, RTO will be posted round the clock. These control rooms have access to the visuals from multiple PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) CCTV cameras installed along the Missing Link. The personnel from the control room will initiate response to the stoppages of vehicles which are now allowed, accidents, fire incidents or other situations. Based on the type of the situation the control room will dispatch patrolling vehicles, ambulances, fire tenders, crane etc. If the issue occurs in one corridor of the runnel, responding vehicles can also be sent via the opposite corridor and can reach the location site through the connecting passages. SOS panic buttons have been installed along the entire length of the Missing Link every 250 metres. The SOS calls from here will also be responded to by the control room. For speed violation detection, we will also be deploying vehicles with speed guns at the ends of the Missing Link. If we look at the number, with cars and passenger buses only allowed in the initial phase, Missing Links will be taking the load of well over 70 per cent of the vehicles,” said Tanaji Chikhale, Superintendent of Police (Raigad Division) with Highway Traffic Police.Each corridor of the Missing Link has four lanes plus an additional shoulder lane as compared to three lanes of the expressway. Like the expressway, stopping of vehicles is not allowed on the Missing Link. Officials said that the three lanes in the Ghat section would effectively be two lanes because of the space taken by the bigger vehicles while turning.Enforcement and emergency responseThe first long tunnel that one crosses while travelling from Pune to Mumbai, which is around nine km long, is under the Khandala Traffic Aid Posts (TAP) which is in the jurisdiction of Pune division of Highway Traffic Police. The subsequent valley bridge, the small tunnel and the link to expressway is under the Borghat TAP, which is under the Raigad division of Highway Traffic Police. In the run up to the inauguration of the Missing Link on May 1, multiple coordination meetings of various agencies including MSRDC, Highway Traffic Police, Regional Transport Office (RTO), local police units and administrations from Pune and Raigad have been conducted.“The Intelligent Traffic Management System or ITMS which has AI-enabled cameras, is currently functioning on the entire stretch of the expressway. The same will be deployed on the Missing Link too. Those in violation of speed limit and lane discipline will be issued challans. The tunnels have in-built water sprinklers along with fire detection and alarm systems. Some fire tenders will be also deployed at the end points of the tunnels and the stretch of the Missing Link. In the same manner, ambulances and cranes will be also permanently deployed at these end points to quickly respond to accidents. Patrolling vehicles of the State Highway Police will be conducting rounds of this stretch at specific frequency,” said Vikrant Deshmukh, Superintendent of Police (Pune Division) with Highway Traffic Police. Officials said that Pune Division and Raigad Division will deploy 15 personnel each and enforcement of traffic rules and emergency response.Concerns and challenges: Speed monitoring, monsoon and curiosityIndependent researcher Tanmay Pendse, who lost his brother and Marathi actor Akshay Pendse and nephew in an expressway accident in December 2012 and has since then been doing extensive work on safety of the highways, said, “Missing Link being a straight high speed corridor with tunnels and valley bridges, speed enforcement and emergency response will be critical, especially because it is all new. Police will also have a major challenge of managing the curiosity of the people. People might slow down, take selfies and photos. For which awareness and sensitisation will have to be done. Then, soon after the inauguration, the monsoon will arrive. And heavy rain always tests infrastructure and risks of high speed travel increase.”Story continues below this adPendse added, “Officials said heavy vehicles may be allowed on the Missing Link after an initial six-month review. This could reintroduce the same enforcement challenges seen earlier, when cars, buses and goods vehicles were not segregated and had to share road space. And this brings us back to four Es of road safety — Education, Enforcement, Engineering and Emergency Response.”Speed limit and access notification issuedThree days ahead of its inauguration, a notification for access and speed limit of the Missing Link was issued by Additional Director General of Police (Traffic) for Maharashtra Praveen Salunke on Tuesday. For the period termed as Phase 1, between May 1 and October 31, only Light Motor Vehicles and passenger buses and passenger vehicles have been allowed. For Phase 2, which is November 1 onwards, goods vehicles may be allowed based on the review of the preceding six months.However, there will be a complete ban on the passage of vehicles carrying hazardous materials including inflammable and explosive substances. These vehicles will continue to use the existing expressway.As per the notification, speed limit for cars or Light Motor Vehicles will be 100 kmph. And for passenger vehicles and passenger buses, the speed limit will be 80 kmph. Both these are speed limits for existing expressway, excluding ghat section.