Premium quality highways, infrastructure and expressways are being constructed under the flagship of the Bharat Mala Project. The aim of executing the BharatMala programme is to upgrade and expand the pre-existing roadways and infrastructure and enrich their quality. 

As part of Phase 2 of the project, the Government of India has planned to connect the Oxford of the East (Pune) to the Silicon Valley of India (Bengaluru) with a 6-8 lane expressway. It will run parallel to NH-48. 

The present day scenario is such that if you drive, travelling by car from Mumbai to Bengaluru will take approximately 18–19 hours. It takes roughly 15–16 hours from Pune. However, Bengaluru-Pune would only take 7-8 hours once the new Mumbai-Pune-Bengaluru highway is completed. This stretch will connect to the Mumbai Pune expressway, requiring an additional 2 hours to reach Mumbai.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari approved the Pune-Bengaluru expressway in 2019. Essentially it will be a 700 hundred km long, 6 lane expressway which will be expandable up to 8 lanes. Furthermore, it will be an access-controlled Greenfield expressway. The National Highway Authority is in charge of construction of the expressway. 

The project is being designed in a manner that will allow for vehicles to drive at a speed of 120km/hour. The distance between Pune and Bengaluru will be cut short by 140 km, in turn reducing the travel time from Pune to Bengaluru to almost 7 hours after the completion of the expressway. 

Since both Pune and Bengaluru are IT hubs, the expressway will facilitate a smoother connectivity and enhance travel between these two cities. 

The total cost for construction is between 40-50,000 crores. 

The expressway will have 2 emergency airstrips in Pune and Bengaluru and will connect to other road networks at 22 locations. Additionally, it will be constructed in a flood-proof way. The planned width for the expressway is 100 metres.  

So far, only 72 kilometres of the 699 kilometre project has been completed with more work underway. The expressway is expected to be completed by 2028.