Samruddhi Expressway’s last phase to open in December

MUMBAI: The last phase of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg, stretching 76 km between Igatpuri and Amane, will finally be opened for motorists within a month. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the implementing agency for the 701-km access-controlled expressway, has already operationalised 625 km so far in three phases.

Prime minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated a 520-km stretch of the expressway back on December 11, 2022. Subsequently, 105 km was opened for motorists in two phases: Shirdi-Bharvir on May 23, 2023 and Bharvir-Igatpuri on March 4, 2024.

As per an MSRDC official, the last phase will open in December. Earlier, the plan was to open the stretch prior to the Maharashtra assembly elections, but the officials were unable to meet the deadline owing to land acquisition challenges at the Thane end of the expressway. A few warehouses in the alignment of the road had to be acquired, and getting them vacated took more time than expected.

In the last phase, the work on an almost-1.5-km-long bridge at Khardi in Thane district has been a complicated one in terms of engineering, as it is at a height of 84 metres and also gets linked with an 8-km-long tunnel. The work is now almost complete with only the finishing touches remaining. The tunnel will help bypass the infamous Kasara Ghat on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, which is perennially choked and often witnesses vehicular breakdowns.

At Amane, a spur will connect Samruddhi Expressway with the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway—the latter road will proceed to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust at one end and the old Mumbai-Nashik highway at the other.

Construction of this greenfield expressway began back in February 2019. Designed for 150 kmph, the speed limit has been capped at 120 kmph. The Maharashtra government had announced the big-ticket project back in November 2015, and its construction was divided into 16 packages. The expressway has a concession (duration of agreement) period for 40 years over which toll can be collected.

A few days ahead of Samruddhi Mahamarg’s inauguration in mid-2022, a wildlife overpass collapsed at Waifal near Nagpur, making the government reschedule the corridor’s opening to December 2022. Since its inauguration, there have been nearly 150 vehicle accidents on it, involving over 200 fatalities. MSRDC has made multiple failed attempts to develop wayside amenities here.