Two gamechanger projects will connect to Nashik, Pune soon

Two important Infrastructure projects connecting the city to Nashik and Pune will be thrown open to traffic this year By the end of March the 76km leg of the MumbaiNagpur Expressway officially known as the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Igatpuri and Amne near Bhiwandi is expected to be opened followed by the MumbaiPune lsquomissing linkrsquo projectSamruddhi MahamargAt present motorists headed towards Nagpur have to travel to Igatpuri via the old MumbaiNashik highway in order to get onto the Samruddhi Mahamarg A senior Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation MSRDC official said ldquoWork on the IgatpuriAmne stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is almost complete and final touches are being made including the installation of crash barriers and signage The construction of the carriageway connecting the expressway with old MumbaiNashik highway is progressing at a fast pace We have completed work related to the main carriageway linking the expressway with the MumbaiNashik highway and the remaining work on one of the approaches is expected to be completed by March 15rdquoThe tunnels of the MumbaiPune lsquomissing linkrsquo project which the MSRDC says is 23 metres wideOfficials added that on the last stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg there are five tunnels and 16 bridges and because of the difficult terrain carrying out construction work on this stretch is challenging The MSRDC has filled potholes and concreted the road that will connect the expressway with the MumbaiNashik highway to ensure motorists donrsquot face problems With the opening of the stretch between Igatpuri and Amane motorists will be able to avoid the Kasara ghat and traffic on the old MumbaiNashik highwayThe 701km Samruddhi Mahamarg links Maharashtrarsquos economic and agricultural hubs passing through three varied habitat types starting from the dry deciduous forests near Nagpur grasslands in the middle section and the Western Ghats near MumbaiMissing link projectWork on this project which will help Punebound motorists avoid traffic on the Lonavala ghat section is progressing at a fast pace and it will be completed by August The MSRDC has reached out to Guinness World Records claiming the project includes the worldrsquos widest twin tunnels measuring 47 metres in width and 175 km and 892 km in length The Guinness World Records team has already visited the tunnel site to verify the claim and will be returning in the coming monthsRahul Vasaikar superintending engineer MSRDC said ldquoThe missing link work is more than 90 per cent complete and we are hopeful that the remaining work will be completed by August By September or October the link will be thrown open for traffic The work on viaduct one has been completed along with that on both tunnels Work on viaduct two is also in progressrdquoThe length of the existing MumbaiPune expressway section from Khopoli exit to Sinhgad Institute of Technology is 19 km This distance will be reduced to 133 km after the construction of the missing link So the total length of the expressway will be decreased by 6 km and the travel time will be reduced by 20 to 25 minutes Work on a 170metrehigh cablestayed bridge is progressing at a fast paceEvery 300 metres the tunnels going towards Pune and coming towards Mumbai will be interconnected to each other so that in case of an emergency traffic does not get affected As part of the work the expressway is being widened at the Pune end of the Khalapur toll plaza after which motorists will travel via bridge and tunnels passing 150 metres below Lonavala lake The missing link will meet the expressway after the Sinhgad Institute of TechnologyThe MumbaiPune expressway is a sixlane cement concrete pavement with a 25metrewide paved shoulder on both sides measuring 94 km in length National Highway No 4 from Shil Phata to Dehu Road is a fourlane bituminous pavement with a length of 111 kmThe MumbaiPune Expressway and NH4 meet near Khalapur toll plaza and separate near Khandala exit The section from Adoshi Tunnel to Khandala exit is a sixlane road but the traffic of a 10lane road plies in this section Besides heavy traffic landslides cause congestion on this stretch To save time motorists also tend to speed on the rest of the expressway resulting in a spate of accidents