India, Feb. 5 -- Once hailed as Maharashtra's flagship infrastructure project and India's first access-controlled expressway, the 95-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway is increasingly emerging as a chronic choke point, where a single accident or breakdown can paralyse traffic for hours and strand thousands of commuters.

The latest disruption unfolded on Tuesday, when a tanker carrying highly inflammable propylene gas overturned near the Adoshi tunnel in the Khandala ghat section, forcing a safety shutdown that brought traffic to a standstill for over 24 hours. The incident once again underscored how the 24-year-old expressway remains highly vulnerable to disruption, despite improved enforcement and a marginal decline in accident numbers.

Operati...