MUMBAI, Dec. 14 -- A second Mumbai-Pune Expressway parallel to the existing one, a new expressway from Pune to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and a major infrastructure boost for Pune - these were some of the projects announced by Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Friday. The new 130-km expressway from Mumbai to Pune, estimated to cost Rs.15,000 crore, will extend from the Atal Setu near JNPA to Pune's Shivare Junction. "The first phase, from Pagote (near JNPA) to Chowk (Panvel), has already been approved. Once completed, the Pune-Mumbai journey will take just one-and-a-half hours, while the Pune-Mumbai-Bengaluru journey can be covered in five-and-a-half hours," said Gadkari, architect of the existing Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a state-of-the-art marvel when it opened in 2002. Gadkari also announced another greenfield expressway, between Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, estimated to cost Rs.16,318 crore. Addressing the media at the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur, Gadkari said, "Road development worth Rs.1.5 lakh crore has been approved across the state. Projects worth nearly Rs.50,000 crore have been approved for Pune district alone, all of which are expected to begin within the next three months."...