Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate the final stretch of the Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, popularly known as the 'Samruddhi Mahamarg', on June 5.
This last section is a 76-kilometre stretch between Igatpuri in Nashik and Amane in Thane. On the same day, the road will also be open for public use, Hindustan Times reported.
“All construction work on this part is finished and CM Fadnavis will inaugurate it on Thursday,” HT quoted Anil Gaikwad, managing director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) as saying.
The cost of building this section was Rs 1,182 crore, jointly funded by the MSRDC and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It includes three interchanges located at Igatpuri, Kutghar in Shahapur, and Amane in Thane. One of the main highlights is a 7.8-km-long tunnel, the longest road tunnel in India.
Currently, those travelling on the old Mumbai-Nashik highway have to ascend 450 metres on the Western Ghats via serpentine roads through the Kasara Ghat. The highway will slash the elevation to 160 metres and reduce the travel time between Igatpuri and Amane from 90 minutes to only 40 minutes.
With this final stretch now ready, the entire 701-km expressway from Nagpur to Mumbai will be fully open. The travel time between the two cities will drop from 16 hours to just 8 hours. Built at a total cost of Rs 55,000 crore, the expressway supports speeds of up to 150 km per hour. It includes 33 major bridges, 274 smaller ones, 65 flyovers and six tunnels, passing through 10 districts and 390 villages.
The expressway was opened in phases. The first section, from Nagpur to Shirdi, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022. The second, from Shirdi to Bharvir, was inaugurated by then CM Eknath Shinde in May 2023. The third part, from Bharvir to Igatpuri, was opened in March 2024 by Dada Bhuse, who was the MSRDC minister at the time.
The expressway is officially named ‘Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg’. It was a flagship project envisioned by Devendra Fadnavis during his tenure as chief minister from 2014 to 2019. Although construction began in 2019, it faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work later resumed at full pace, and the final stretch is now ready for inauguration.
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