For long, work on this stretch had remained affected by delay in acquisition of land. The NHAI, along with the district collector?s office, was involved in a protracted negotiation process with the original land owners who had refused to accept the compensation offered, on the grounds that it did not commensurate with the market rate. However, a settlement was finally reached and work on four-laning of this stretch had begun at a rapid pace.

Incidentally, a 300-km stretch of the Mumbai-Bangalore highway passes through Maharashtra wherein the expressway is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral. Elsewhere along the highway, like the Pune-Kagal stretch on the State?s border with Karnataka, work is at a snail?s pace.

Closer home, the project had grounded to a halt at Katraj because farmers were unhappy about the compensation. A few months ago, the issue was sorted out and the district collectorate acquired land from 200 farmers. Work on a tunnel parallel to the existing one in Katraj ghat is in progress.

Toll from March 23 midnite

• Cars, jeeps and vans:Rs 25 for a one-way trip or Rs 38 for multiple trips
• Light commercial vehicles: Rs 40 (one-way) and Rs 60 (multiple trips)
• Trucks and buses: Rs 85 (one-way) and Rs 128 (multiple trips)
• Heavy machinery, earth-moving vehicles: Rs 185 (one-way) or Rs 278 (multiple trips)