New Delhi: Rain-triggered landslides on Monday (July 6) killed three members of a family and halted travel on the recently inaugurated Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link, merely two months after its inauguration.The Missing Link, inaugurated by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on May 1, was built at a cost of Rs 6,695 crore and touted as a permanent solution to the accident-prone Khandala ghat section of the expressway.The ambitious infrastructure project – which features twin tunnels and a 183-metre cable-stayed bridge – failed to clear its first monsoon test after the landslides on Monday forced travellers back on the old Mumbai-Pune highway. The tallest bridge of its kind in the country, the Missing Link was meant to shorten the Mumbai-Pune journey by nearly 6 km and reduce travel time by up to 30 minutes.‘Act of god’According to the State Highway Police, the landslide occurred early Monday after continuous rainfall. A retaining wall near the first tunnel on the Pune-to-Mumbai carriageway was damaged, and water flowed onto the roadway.Authorities closed the Pune-to-Mumbai carriageway and temporarily stopped traffic in both directions. Around 10 am, the Mumbai-to-Pune side was reopened, while the Pune-to-Mumbai route remained closed, the Indian Express reported. Traffic heading to Mumbai was diverted through the old Mumbai-Pune Highway (NH-48). However, the old highway was also affected at the same time after a tree fell onto a power line. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) described the incident as an “act of God” and said that it was not the contractor’s fault. “This is not the contractor’s fault; it is nature at play,” Anilkumar Gaikwad, vice chairman, MSRDC told the paper.“The tunnel structure has not been affected, but the false frame – which is an external structure built at the edges of tunnels – has been damaged,” Gaikwad added.Another MSRDC official quoted by the paper said that the rock fall mitigation measures were in place but the boulders that fell onto the expressway had come from a height of 150 m, which could not have been prevented. “…rock fall mitigation measures are in place, vetted by IIT-Bombay. This includes rock boulting mesh up to a height of 15 meters on the mountain over the tunnel. That is still intact. But the boulders falling down are coming from a height of around 150m. Such heavy rainfall is akin to an act of God, with little that can be done to prevent it,” the official told the paper.The corporation said that the tunnel has not suffered any structural damage. It was reopened late last night after safety and technical assessments were completed, it added.