A major development has emerged regarding the 701-km-long Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway. The final 76-km stretch of the expressway, linking Igatpuri to Amane, is likely to be inaugurated on May 1, 2025, on the occasion of Maharashtra Day. Officials have indicated that this may happen alongside the opening of the south-bound section of the Thane Creek Bridge. Once fully operational, the project will significantly cut travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur, from the current 16-18 hours to just 8-9 hours.
Simultaneous Infrastructure Launch Expected
According to reports, Anil Gaikwad, managing director of MSRDC, mentioned that both infrastructure initiatives are ready to be launched. Their operational launch will result in improved connection routes for Navi Mumbai and Pune citizens and users of the pending Navi Mumbai International Airport.
A Visionary Project To Boost High-Speed Transport
The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, officially known as the Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg, is a modern expressway linking Nagpur and Mumbai. The project was initially envisioned by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to boost high-speed transport between the two cities.
About Routes
The expressway starts from Shivamadka village near Nagpur before ending in Thane district near Mumbai as it crosses through the districts of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Jalna, Aurangabad (now Sambhajinagar), Nashik, Ahmednagar, and Thane. The road has a current configuration of 6 expressway lanes, yet it was built to support enlargement to 8 total lanes. All vehicles on the expressway will be limited to 120 km/h as their maximum permissible speed, as reported by India.com.
Six tunnels appear throughout the expressway, with the longest being the double-tunneled Kasara Ghat structure. The expressway contains 33 major bridges, together with 274 minor bridges. Infrastructure developments include the installation of cutting-edge surveillance through CCTV and the establishment of emergency helpline communication systems, together with rest facilities and electric vehicle charging stations.
Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase between Nagpur and Shirdi in December 2022. The scheduled opening of the last tunnel section starts from Igatpuri up to Amane.
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