Samruddhi Mahamarg: 76-km final stretch opens tomorrow; 701-km expressway now fully ready
Igatpuri in Nashik to Amane in Thane; but motorists from Mumbai, Thane & Navi Mumbai will have to wait for at least a year to easily access Samruddhi Mahamarg
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The travel time between Igatpuri and Amane previously used to take more than 90 minutes. (Representational Image) The final phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg — a 76-km stretch from Igatpuri in Nashik to Amane in Thane — is all set to be inaugurated on Thursday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will attend the inaugural ceremony at Igatpuri, making the most-ambitious expressway project by the state government fully operational.
Although the final stretch will be opened on Thursday, motorists from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai will have to wait for at least a year to easily access the Samruddhi Mahamarg as the Vadpe interchange linking the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Samruddhi Mahamarg is still under construction.
According to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the final stretch has been built at a cost of Rs 1,182 crore in a joint partnership with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and passes over the dangerous Kasara Ghat, providing a speedier and safe route for passengers travelling between Mumbai and Nagpur.
The travel time between Igatpuri and Amane, which previously used to take more than 90 minutes through the zigzag ghat section, will now be halved to 30-40 minutes. The entire Nagpur-Thane trip will now take only eight hours, from the previous 16 hours.
With the opening of the last stretch, the 701-km Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Nagpur to the doorstep of Mumbai will be completely opened to traffic. At present, 625 km of the corridor from Nagpur to Igatpuri is now operational.
The final phase of the project was delayed for months by the unfinished section between Amane and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which is important for integrating the Samruddhi corridor with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the national highway network. With the NHAI now finishing this connector, officials said the integration is now complete.
Access from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai
The Samruddhi Mahamarg, which starts in Nagpur, ends at Amane village near Bhiwandi, about 60 km from Mumbai. Access to the Samruddhi Mahamarg from Mumbai and its metropolitan area is currently limited somewhat as the Vadpe interchange linking the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Samruddhi Mahamarg is under construction.
Until this interchange opens, which will take up to a year from now, traffic from Mumbai, Thane or Navi Mumbai will have to use the expressway through a temporary access point close to Shangrila Resort near Bhiwandi on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, according to MSRDC officials.
In future, when the Vadpe interchange and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway section is opened, the Samruddhi Expressway will be easily accessible from places such as Kalyan, Dombivli, Badlapur, Vasai, Virar, Panvel and Navi Mumbai. Other interchange options from Badlapur and Kalyan are also in plans for ensuring easier connectivity.
Besides, another expansion is underway to accommodate the increased traffic, which includes widening the 21.6 km segment of the Mumbai-Nashik Highway from Vadpe to Majiwada in Thane. The important route, now congested with commercial vehicles, is being widened from four to eight lanes.
The new route will also offer faster travel for Shirdi pilgrims from Mumbai and Thane and quicker transport of farm produce from the districts that the expressway passes through to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
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