Samruddhi Mahamarg final phase opens today: here are key features of the last stretch
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will open the last 76-km phase of the Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, from Igatpuri to Amane near Bhiwandi, on Thursday. This phase completes the 701-km expressway end-to-end for traffic.
The recently finished section cuts across the hilly Sahyadri range and features a number of infrastructure achievements that make it the technically most demanding and important phase of the project.
Among the most outstanding features is the 8-km twin tunnel near Igatpuri, which is currently the longest and widest in Maharashtra. At 9.12 m tall and 17.61 m wide, it is also the first in the country to have an advanced fire-fighting system on board. The tunnel bypasses the historically challenging Kasara Ghat and enables vehicles to make the journey from Igatpuri to Kasara within eight minutes.
Apart from this tunnel, this segment boasts 17 large valley viaducts covering about 10.5 km. Some of the piers in these viaducts go up to 84 m high, indicative of the magnitude of work done across mountainous stretches. The longest of these viaducts is 2.28 km long, providing motorists a more comfortable and secure ride across what used to be difficult routes.
Three interchanges have also been constructed in the section at Igatpuri, Khutghar and Amane to facilitate entry and exit. According to officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, the project involved massive utility relocations, such as the shifting of over 60 power lines and building a railway overbridge.
Once this section is opened, passengers can drive from Nagpur to Mumbai in only eight hours. The expressway should cut travel times, particularly for those travelling from the Thane-Mumbai corridor to Shirdi or carrying agricultural commodities from Nashik district to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The last stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg not only decongests traffic on highways but also can aid safer travel, economic growth and better connectivity throughout the state. With cutting-edge engineering and holistic planning, the stretch is the last piece of what is now the most advanced and ambitious infrastructure corridor in India.
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