2 min readPuneFeb 5, 2026 08:29 PM IST
Traffic on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, a critical lifeline between the two metros, resumed early on Thursday.
One of the longest-ever, traffic disruptions of over 32 hours was reported on the expressway after a tanker carrying highly flammable propylene gas overturned on the Mumbai-bound corridor at the Adoshi tunnel in Raigad district, Tuesday evening.
Vikrant Deshmukh, Superintendent of Highway Safety Patrol (HSP), Pune, confirmed that traffic on the Pune–Mumbai Expressway returned to normal around 2 am Thursday after the transfer of gas from the damaged tanker to empty tankers was completed safely in a high-risk operation.
“Following the completion of gas transfer, the traffic on both corridors on the expressway resumed. It took a few hours for the traffic situation to become normal as a large number of heavy vehicles were passing through the expressway,” Deshmukh said.
The incident occurred around 5 pm on Tuesday near the entrance to the Adoshi Tunnel on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, when a Bharat Petroleum tanker carrying propylene overturned while navigating a curve. Soon after the incident, a leak was detected in the tanker.
Propylene is a highly flammable industrial gas widely used in petrochemical manufacturing, making leaks extremely hazardous and potentially explosive. Following the gas leak, the Pune-Mumbai expressway corridor was fully closed to vehicular traffic.
Teams from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) launched an operation to control the gas leak, and traffic on both expressway corridors was halted for safety. Traffic from some earlier points was also diverted to the old Pune-Mumbai highway. It led to long queues of up to 20 kilometres on the expressway.
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After the leak was partially controlled, the authorities decided to transfer the gas from the damaged tanker to two or three empty tankers. This operation started around 6 pm Wednesday and went on till 2 am Thursday.
