Creating employment opportunities along the route, the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur to just eight hours. With the inauguration of Phase 1, this super-communication expressway aims to bring socio-economic development by attracting domestic and foreign investments. Here’s the complete download of the project!
Update: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase-1 of the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg on December 11, 2022. The inaugurated route is a 520 km stretch that connects Nagpur to Shirdi. The rest of the corridor that connects Shirdi to Mumbai will be completed in the next 6-7 months, by mid-2023. It takes over 16 hours to travel the distance of around 830 km between Mumbai and Nagpur. However, the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg or the Mumbai Nagpur Expressway will bring down the commute time to approximately eight hours. It is a super communication expressway, which will truncate the distance to about 700 km and the travel time by almost 50 percent. Through this thruway, the distance between Nagpur and Shirdi can be covered in five hours.
Contents
Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg route
- Mumbai-Nagpur super communication expressway will link JNPT in Mumbai and Mihan in Nagpur
- The feeder network will connect 14 neighbouring districts to the expressway, and over 20 new towns (Krushi Samruddhi Kendra), equipped with all modern amenities, agro-based industries, and commercial hubs.
The 701 km long Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will pass through 10 major districts, including Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldana, Jalna, Aurangabad, Nasik, Ahmednagar and Thane.
The expressway will also connect important tourist places and cities along the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway route. This includes districts such as Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Yavatmal, Akola, Hingoli, Parbhani, Nanded, Beed, Dhule, Jalgaon, Palghar and Raigad.
Furthermore, Shirdi (5 km), Bibi ka Maqbara (5 km), Sula Vineyards (8 km), Trimbakeshwar Shiv Temple (14 km), Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary (60 km), Pench National Park (95 km) and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (124 km) will also be linked to this expressway.
Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg: Current status
The first phase of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg has been completed and was inaugurated on December 11, 2022. The phase, which was to become operational on May 2, 2022, was postponed after a segment of a wildlife overpass was damaged on the stretch. This overpass is located at Waiphal, 37 km from Nagpur and is designed to facilitate the movement of wildlife. According to media reports, the last phase of the Samruddhi Expressway between Shirdi and Mumbai may open for public use by mid-2023.
Facts about Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway
- The super communication expressway is a six-lane expressway expandable to eight lanes
- It will be running through 10 districts, 26 tehsils, and over 390 villages
- It also has direct connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT)- the country’s largest container port
- Aimed at facilitating the movement of passengers and goods, the expressway also intends to enhance the export-import trade of the State.
- Comprising over 50 flyovers, over 25 interchanges, five tunnels and over 400 vehicular and 300 pedestrian underpasses, the expressway will provide last mile connectivity without disrupting the traffic flow.
- Connecting several industrial clusters, such as Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), and the dry ports of Wardha and Jalna, the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will further reduce the travel time between Mumbai-Aurangabad and Aurangabad-Nagpur to four hours each.
- Extensive landscaping, tunnel lighting, digital signage, and bridge beautification will be an indispensable part of the expressway
- Fly ash, plastic and locally available materials are being used for the construction of the expressway, which will also have CCTV surveillance and free telephone booths every five km to ease emergency reporting
- The communication expressway will also facilitate the landing of aircraft or fighter jets during fatal situations.
- Having a width of 120 m, the expressway will be built as per international standards. It will be a zero-fatality Mahamarg, having service roads on both sides that will further connect through various underpasses.
- It runs through wildlife habitats of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, and Buldhana districts of Vidarbha, tiger corridors, eco-sensitive zones of Tansa, Katepurna and Karanja Sohol wildlife sanctuaries.
- The utility Mahamarg along the proposed expressway will have optical fibre cables, gas pipelines, and electricity lines, among other facilities.
- The entry and exit at the expressway will be managed via automated toll collection.
Benefits of the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg project
- The expressway along with its feeder network will not only boost economic activity across the State, but also ease traffic congestion, and promote tourism
- It will also link several agricultural and industrial nodes of the State to prominent consumer markets of Nagpur and Mumbai
- Krushi Samruddhi Kendra and agro-based industry will be set up around the Mahamarg for providing employment to over 20,000 people
- The development of Krushi Samrudhhi Kendra will further benefit the landowners who voluntarily will give their consent for land pooling. This will provide a thrust to agriculture-related businesses, and help improve the realty market along the corridor
- The Mumbai-Nagpur corridor will also witness the planned development of townships in the Wardha and Buldhana districts as agricultural hubs.
Also known as Prosperity Corridor, Samruddhi Mahamarg is one of the most significant infrastructure projects of Maharashtra, planned to unlock the growth potential of the State. It is expected to fillip the realty landscape in the areas alongside and boost the investment capacity of the region.
FAQs
Who is implementing agency of Mumbai Nagpur expressway?
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will be the implementing agency for the Mumbai Nagpur expressway project.
When will the Mumbai Nagpur Expressway be made operational?
The first phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg between Nagpur and Shirdi became operational from December 11, 2022.
When was ground-breaking ceremony held for Mumbai Nagpur Expressway?
Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway ground-breaking ceremony was done by prime minister Narendra Modi in December 2018.
How long does it take to reach Nagpur from Mumbai on the Mumbai Nagpur expressway?
Currently it takes close to 15 hours and once the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is operational, the travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur on the Mumbai Nagpur expressway will be six to seven hours.