Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi highway: Shirdi-Bharvir stretch gets crash cushion to prevent road accidents

Pic/MSRDC

As the Shirdi -Bharvir stretch of the Nagpur Mumbai Samruddhi highway near Nasik will be opening today, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has installed Impact Attenuator technology on this stretch in order to prevent road accidents.

According to the MSRDC officials, this technology which has been on the entire stretch of the Samruddhi Highway, reduces the impact of the accident preventing serious injuries to the motorists.

Impact Attenuators also called Highway Impact Attenuators are devices that are typically employed to lessen the effect of a motor vehicle collision where the impacts can damage other vehicles, other drivers, or surrounding structures. The Impact Attenuators, sometimes called crash cushions, are designed to absorb a significant amount of the momentum and kinetic energy of colliding vehicles.

Sanjay Yadav, joint managing director, MSRDC said, "We have introduced the Impact Attenuator technology on the Shirdi-Bharvir stretch and the other stretch of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi highway. The technology has been provided near highway structures as a precautionary measure. If any speeding vehicle hits on structures it will absorb the impact. A total of 245 Impact Attenuators have been installed between Shirdi to Bharvir."

It may be noted that they have been installed on the median as well as on the sides too at several locations.

"As the probability of hitting is on the median side, the Impact Attenuator has been provided where interchange ramps are going down considering probable hit (accident) location," An MSRDC official added.

On Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will open the Samruddhi Expressway's 80 km long Shirdi-Bharvir section near Nasik. Once this stretch is opened the other section between Bharvir to Igatpuri is also expected to be thrown open for traffic soon.

The work on the last stretch between Igatpuri to Amane in Bhiwandi is more than 80 per cent complete and by December the entire work is expected to complete.