Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor: Work on 76-km Igatpuri-Amane stretch won't be completed in October

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There is bad news for motorists who were expecting to travel via the 76-km-long Igatpuri-Amane stretch of Samruddhi highway in October. The opening of the stretch is expected to be delayed as the work on the construction of the road connecting the Mumbai-Nashik Highway with the Samruddhi corridor near Amane interchange will take some time to complete.

It may be noted that Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have prioritised the segment from the Amane interchange to the Mumbai-Nashik highway. According to MSRDC officials, the work on the last section of the Samruddhi highway between Igatpuri and Amne is complete and the work of the road connecting the interchange with the Mumbai-Nashik highway is also progressing.

Sources from MSRDC said that there were some warehouses that were existing along the road alignment from Amane interchange to the Mumbai-Nashik highway. During the monsoon season, it became a challenging task to demolish the warehouses and construct the road, the sources further stated. According to MSRDC officials, the work on the 1-km stretch is now in progress and will be completed as soon as possible, following which the opening date of the last stretch of Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor will be announced.

Earlier, it was speculated that the last stretch of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor might be opened before the code of conduct for the Maharashtra State Assembly elections is announced. According to MSRDC officials, there will be five tunnels and 16 bridges on the last stretch of the Samruddhi corridor.

MSRDC has filled the potholes and completed the concretisation work of the road that will connect the Samruddhi expressway with the Mumbai-Nashik highway to facilitate smoother travel for motorists.

Currently, the Samruddhi highway stretch from Nagpur to Igatpuri is operational for traffic. Commuters travelling between Mumbai and Nagpur have to thus take the old Mumbai-Nashik highway up to Igatpuri before taking the Samruddhi highway. With the opening of the 76-km-long stretch between Igatpuri and Amane near Thane, motorists will be able to avoid the Kasara ghat and the traffic on the old Mumbai-Nashik highway.

MSRDC has also undertaken the road-widening work on the 23.05-km-long stretch of the old Mumbai-Nashik highway between Thane and Vadpe as heavy traffic snarls are witnessed here, sometimes taking motorists more than two hours to cross the stretch. According to MSRDC officials, the work will be completed on this stretch by February-March next year.

The Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor is an important infrastructure project linking Maharashtra's economic and agricultural hubs. The 701-km expressway passes through three varied habitat types: the dry deciduous forests near Nagpur, grasslands in the middle section, and the Western Ghats near the end of the expressway around Mumbai.