Slamming the brakes as a deer darts across the road or waiting patiently as a herd of animals crosses it at a leisurely pace are common experiences of driving on roads cutting through forested areas.
But on India’s fastest highway — the under-construction Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, which is designed for a top speed of 150 kmph — the focus is on co-existence, with five “wildlife bridges” and a network of underpasses being built.
The 701-km-long and 120-m-broad highway, which will be partly commissioned this May, cuts across three sanctuaries — Tansa (Thane), Katepurna (Akola-Washim border) and Karanja-Sohol (Washim) — and 35 wildlife focus areas (WFAs) – 16 in Vidharbha, 16 in the North Western Ghats, 3 in Marathwada — stretched over 118 km across the route. And there is a lot more at stake than a roadkill.
NM corridor (71.800 km-77.650 km): Within a span of six kilometres, two wildlife overpasses, one 45-m wide and 60-m wide, both parabola shaped, are being built for unhindered animal passage across the expressway. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
A high-speed corridor cutting across wildlife habitat can severely restrict the movement of animals, altering their behaviour and dispersal patterns. Mindful of this, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), that is building the highway, joined forces with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to engineer safe wildlife crossings.
“The idea is to give native animals a way to get across the road without endangering themselves… The good thing about this highway is that it is the first one where wildlife mitigation has been considered, even as it does not cut across any of the protected areas of a forest. We wanted to set an example,” said Dr Bilal Habib, WII scientist who was the project’s lead investigator for wildlife mitigation measures.
NM corridor (23.350 km): This area is at the centre of a mapped corridor between adjacent tiger reserves of Bor and Umred . The MSRDC has decided to construct a 5 meter high and 300 m wide viaduct to facilitate movement of large animals across the road . (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
While animal underpasses are not new, the five “wildlife bridges” — three overpasses in the wildlife focus areas of the project in Vidarbha and two in the highlands of Aurangabad — are the first of their kind in India, he said.
While the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also announced a plan to construct animal bridges along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai expressway, the land acquisition process for this corridor is still in progress. On the other hand, work on the Nagpur-Mumbai corridor is almost 70 per cent complete.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who has named the project after his father Bal Thackeray, has announced that a 502-km stretch along the route — connecting Nagpur to Shirdi — will be opened to the public on May 1. MSRDC’s Vice Chairman-cum-Managing Director Radheshyam Mopalwar said the remaining section of the corridor will be commissioned on or before May next year.
NM corridor (12.920 km): With this area also known for tiger dispersal, the Wildlife Institute of India has recommended that a minor 16 m wide bridge (animal underpass) be constructed here. Median portion is to be left open to sky, sound barriers will be installed along the median and the road sides to promote wildlife movement beneath. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
Racing to meet the first deadline, civil contractors engaged by the MSRDC are designing a straight-edged parabolic-approach ramp-way for a 60-m wide wildlife overpass along the route in Wardha. “The basic structure will be ready within three months,” said B K Jha, the site’s project manager. Dr Habib said a parabolic approach will help to guide the wildlife to the bridge.
NM corridor (15.140km): A 32-m wide and 22-m high wildlife overpass, which will have a parabolic shaped entrance being constructed. This area in Wardha district is near a tiger corridor and is known for tiger dispersal. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
This stretch of the highway is located in the middle of a functional corridor between the Bor Tiger Reserve and the Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary.
Besides tigers, the area is also home to the nilgai, sambar, chinkara, wild boar, Indian hare, porcupine, striped hyena and golden jackal. “Fragmentation of such patches can lead to destruction of habitat, and also affect the animal density and movement,” the WII had said in a report which advocated the overpass to avoid a man-animal conflict.
With this area also known for tiger dispersal, the Wildlife Institute of India has recommended that a minor 16 m wide bridge (animal underpass) be constructed here. A median portion is to be left open to the sky, sound barriers will be installed along the median and the roadsides to promote wildlife movement beneath. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
The wildlife bridge will also be covered with native flora. “The art is to make it look as natural as possible. An animal should be happy to use the crossing,” said Dr Habib.
“Once the civil work is over, we’ll engage specialised landscaping agencies for the job,” said Bhushan Malkhandale, MSRDC’s executive engineer.
Construction workers working at Katepurna wildlife sanctuary. NM Corridor km 214.84- 218.54: A wildlife crossing bridge, an overpass, and another animal underpass are among the structures being built in a portion of the road that passes through the Katepurna wildlife sanctuary.
Just 6 km ahead, another 45-m wide “wildlife bridge” is being built. Also, there are undercrossings – viaducts, underpasses, and box culverts — designed to cater to wildlife. “We have planned 80 structures along the route to cater to animal movement,” said Mopalwar.
Based on WII’s inputs, the MSRDC has increased the height of all box culverts, being built within a 10-km buffer area of a wildlife habitat, to 4-5 metres to facilitate movement of smaller animals . “For all wildlife structures, the median will be left open for proper light and ventilation. All viaducts, major and minor bridges, overpasses and underpasses will have noise barriers and landscaping suitable for wildlife,” said Mopalwar.
Towards the Katepurna Wildlife Sanctuary, on the Washim-Akola border, about 214 km from the corridor’s starting point, work on construction of a 190-m wide viaduct cutting across the sanctuary is underway.
“To facilitate movement of large mammals in groups beneath the highway, we’ve increased the height and widened the bridge,” said Rajendra Malwat, executive engineer and manager, MSRDC. Those working at the site said they had spotted herds of deer and nilgai.
Nearby, an overpass and a culvert are being built. Since the site is close to the protected area of the sanctuary, the use of heavy machinery has been barred. The noise barriers will come up after the construction is completed, said Malwat.
During its field surveys, the WII reported 25 different species along the route. While the nilgai, chinkara and jungle cat were among the most common, the Indian pangolin, honey badger and barking deer were also sighted.
“We studied the land use classes in these regions to see how wildlife species were utilising them before recommending specific mitigation measures,” said Dr Habib. In the coming months, his team is also planning to document the flight path of birds along the route.
The 701-km-long and 120-m-broad highway, which will be partly commissioned this May, cuts across three sanctuaries — Tansa (Thane), Katepurna (Akola-Washim border) and Karanja-Sohol (Washim) — and 35 wildlife focus areas (WFAs) – 16 in Vidharbha, 16 in the North Western Ghats, 3 in Marathwada — stretched over 118 km across the route. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) 
NM corridor (71.800 km-77.650 km): Within a span of six kilometres, two wildlife overpasses, one 45-m wide and 60-m wide, both parabola shaped, are being built for unhindered animal passage across the expressway. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
NM corridor (23.350 km): This area is at the centre of a mapped corridor between adjacent tiger reserves of Bor and Umred . The MSRDC has decided to construct a 5 meter high and 300 m wide viaduct to facilitate movement of large animals across the road . (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
NM corridor (12.920 km): With this area also known for tiger dispersal, the Wildlife Institute of India has recommended that a minor 16 m wide bridge (animal underpass) be constructed here. Median portion is to be left open to sky, sound barriers will be installed along the median and the road sides to promote wildlife movement beneath. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
NM corridor (15.140km): A 32-m wide and 22-m high wildlife overpass, which will have a parabolic shaped entrance being constructed. This area in Wardha district is near a tiger corridor and is known for tiger dispersal. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
With this area also known for tiger dispersal, the Wildlife Institute of India has recommended that a minor 16 m wide bridge (animal underpass) be constructed here. A median portion is to be left open to the sky, sound barriers will be installed along the median and the roadsides to promote wildlife movement beneath. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
Construction workers working at Katepurna wildlife sanctuary. NM Corridor km 214.84- 218.54: A wildlife crossing bridge, an overpass, and another animal underpass are among the structures being built in a portion of the road that passes through the Katepurna wildlife sanctuary. 
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