By November of this year, it’s likely that the first section of the 701 km Nagpur Mumbai Samruddhi MahaMarg from Nagpur to Shirdi will be accessible to the general public.
The project would probably be opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also serves as the chairman of the nodal body for the project, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
Radheshyam Mopalwar, vice chairman and managing director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), said they are awaiting the PM’s approval.
“We are prepared for the prime minister to commission the first phase. It will aid in enhancing connectivity and fostering economic development in the neighbourhoods surrounding the first phase of the Samruddhi Marg “he added
The ambitious Samruddhi MahaMarg’s development was started in 2019, as opposed to the Greenfield Project, whose land acquisition phase began in July 2017 following its initial announcement in 2015.
The Mumbai-Pune expressway is the first expressway in the state, and the 701-km-long expressway is a six-lane, access-controlled motorway. The highway runs directly through 10 districts (Nagpur, Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha, Washim, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Nashik, and Thane), 26 talukas, and 392 villages in the state of Vidarbha, linking it to the financial centre of the nation.
Travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai will be cut in half, from 16 to 8 hours, once the expressway is completely operational. There are 520 kilometres in the first phase of the highway connecting Nagpur and Shirdi.
The project’s anticipated total cost is Rs 55,000 crore, and the MSRDC has secured financing for the project totaling Rs 28,000 crore.
The Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg is governed by a top speed limit set by the Maharashtra Highway Police.
Eight passengers, including the driver, can ride in passenger cars classified as M1 at a top speed of 120 kph on flat terrain and 100 kph on ghat terrain and tunnels.
The expressway’s speed restriction is 80 kmph for all sorts of cargo trucks falling under the N category. Autorickshaws, quadricycles, and two-wheelers are not permitted on the route.
