Mumbai: The final 76 kilometres of the Samruddhi Mahamarg, between Igatpuri and Amane, in Thane is set for opening very soon. As per sources the plan is to open this stretch on May 1st Maharashtra Day and most likely Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to do the fin inaugural function.
The opening of this stretch is under progress since work on the connecting spur on the under construction Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway is also in final stage of completion ensuring swift traffic dispersal.
The 76 km stretch will bypass the treacherous Kasara Ghat, cutting the travel time between Amane and Igatpuri from over 90 minutes to just 40 minutes.
Currently 625 kilometres of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is already open in different phases to traffic between Nagpur to Igatpuri Town. The 701 kilometres complete corridor is expected to cut travel time between Nagpur and Thane from a gruelling 16 hours to just eight hours once fully operational as the final stretch is opened to traffic.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), responsible for the development of the expressway has recorded till February 2025, 265 fatalities from 166 accidents — the data said.
The MSRDC has cited various causes for the accidents, including loss of control, sleepiness, tyre bursts, speeding, tailgating and rash driving. However, in a bid to keep drivers engaged and alert, creative safety measures have been implemented along the route, as per MSRDC. From murals and sculptures to vibrant art on noise barriers and bridge walls, these artistic displays aim to catch the driver’s eye and remind them to stay cautious, as per MSRDC.
The response times for accidents is the minimum time from the accident alert to arrival being seven minutes, and the maximum being 30 minutes, the data of MSRDC showed.
On the financial front, the expressway has generated Rs 1,318 crore revenue as of March 2025. Of that, Rs 138 crore was collected in the first two months of 2025.
The expressway has 24 parcels of land for fuel stations of which 20 are operational, which include various wayside amenities, including food courts, toilets and puncture repair shops at key locations. These services are intended to improve driving experience and safety, ensuring that motorists have access to essentials and a break from long stretches of uninterrupted driving, as per the MSRDC.
Meanwhile the MSRDC is also tasked with the expansion of the old Mumbai-Nashik Highway that aims to convert the existing four lanes of the highway between Vadape and Majiwada in Thane into an eight-lane expressway.
This 21.6-km stretch poses a series of engineering challenges, including two creek bridges (Kalwa and Kasheli) and one rail overbridge. A 17-km service road from Thane to Kasheli creek is also in the works, designed to ease traffic flow.
The expansion of old highway is with the Joint Venture contractor MEPL -MCL which has further sub-contracted the work to three other contractors, as per MSRDC. An official said that though the work was handed over in June 2021 by the NHAI, the work did not begin for a year due to forest clearance requirement.
The expansion project, costing approximately Rs 1,182 crore, is being executed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), under which the MSRDC and the National Highway Authority of India share the initial costs, with NHAI repaying MSRDC in installments over the next 15 years.
