Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates 520 km long phase one of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi expressway on Sunday, it will be a completion of a long cherished dream for deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. For, apparently when Fadnavis was Nagpur mayor more than two decades ago, he first conceptualised the project while talking to a few of his friends.
So when he recently drove on the Nagpur Shirdi route on the expressway, Fadnavis was keen that he was behind the steering wheel of the posh Mercedes SUV while CM Eknath Shinde sat on the neighbouring passenger seat.
Fadnavis drove the 520 km long distance between Nagpur and Shirdi in five and half hours approximately. He was completely satisfied with the road work and enjoyed the drive thoroughly. His dream project had been accomplished.
The Samruddhi expressway project is 720 km long in total. The stretch between Shirdi and Mumbai will be completed by July 2023 and the full expressway will be open to people after the next monsoon season.
The Samruddhi expressway is a Greenfield project, meaning, it's not done after extending or widening the existing highway. It has six lanes and two additional lanes can be added in the years to come.
The project was launched when Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister in 2016 and is now being completed when he is deputy chief minister. Ironically it was Eknath Shinde who was minister for road works when the project was launched and now he is the chief minister of Maharashtra.
The expressway passes through 14 districts in Maharashtra and has cost more than Rs 50,000 crores which includes compensation to farmers, five times the market rate, for acquiring their land for the super highway. The expressway has 24 interchanges and 38 big bridges.
It has been named Samruddhi Mahamarg ( Prosperity Highway) as Fadnavis envisioned that this super highway could prove to be a game changer for drought-hit Marathwada and Vidarbha regions and fast forward their development.
Travelling on the existing highway the distance between Mumbai and Nagpur is around 900 km and takes 15-18 hours with two halts depending on the vehicle that one is driving. The expressway will reduce travel time and the journey can be completed in under 10 hours.
