Construction of 701-km Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway complete; set to boost industrial growth

NASHIK: The 701-km-long Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway, CM Devendra Fadnavis's pet project, is finally complete.
A Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) official said construction of the final phase (76-km-long road) between Igatpuri and Amane in Thane district was over. He said, "Additional works such as tree plantation and setting up of crash barriers are on. These works will be completed by the second week of March."
MSRDC is the implementing agency of the project. MSRTC joint MD Kailas Jadhav told TOI that the agency has informed state govt that vehicular movement on the entire 701-km stretch can start from next month once the additional works are over.
"Once state govt gives its green signal, movement of vehicles will begin on the last stretch of the expressway," added Jadhav.
The project is the brainchild of Fadnavis when he was the chief minister between 2014 and 2019. Construction work had started from Nagpur in 2019. The pace of the work had slowed down considerably during the Covid-19 pandemic.
MSRDC had appointed 16 reputed firms to undertake construction of the expressway. Each of these firms was assigned to construct a particular stretch of the road. "Over 8,861 hectares of land were acquired for the project. Initially, the agency had a tough task in convincing a section of the farmers to sell their land for the project," the official said.
There are several vehicle, pedestrian and cattle underpasses on the expressway which pass through 10 districts of the state. "The construction of the Igatpuri stretch of the expressway was the toughest challenge as the construction had to be done in the hilly terrain of Western Ghats. The mountain range had to be cut through to build a 7.7km road tunnel between Igatpuri and Kasara," the official said, adding that establishment of the viaducts in the Igatpuri and Thane regions too was also a daunting task.
PM Narendra Modi had inaugurated the first phase of the project in December 2022 between Nagpur and Shirdi. In May 2023 the then CM, Ekanth Shinde had inaugurated the stretch between Shirdi and Bharvir (in Nashik). And last year, another 25km stretch between Bharvir and Igatpuri, was opened for traffic.
"Once the entire expressway becomes operational, it will ease traffic pressure on the existing Nashik-Mumbai highway, which is a part of the Agra-Mumbai national highway. The existing highway has been registering a huge flow of vehicles and during monsoon potholes surface on the road leading to traffic congestions between Thane and Nashik," the official said.
Nashik Industries and Manufacturers' Association president Ashish Nahar said movement of the vehicles on Samruddhi expressway would be much faster as compared to the existing Nashik-Mumbai highway.
"It will be a boon for the industries as transportation of finished products and raw materials will be faster. It will save both travel time and fuel. Once connectivity improves it will attract new investments in Nashik and other neighbouring districts," Nahar said.
Key highlights of Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway completion