Watch: CM Shinde, Fadnavis take a 'test drive' on Samruddhi Mahamarg ahead of inauguration

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, on Sunday, took a test drive of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway or Samruddhi Mahamarg, which will be inaugurated on December 11 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CM and Deputy CM's test drive was unusual in that there was no driver; Fadnavis drove the vehicle while Shinde sat beside him. The latest Samruddhi Mahamarg will reduce travel time between the two metros from 18 to six seven hours.

About the project, 
Samruddhi Mahamarg, or Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, is Devendra Fadnavis' pet project, initiated when he was CM in the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition. The Expressway, officially named, Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is also known as the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication expressway. The project's first phase was supposed to begin earlier this year but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When the 701-kilometre route is completed, it is expected to improve development chances in drought-prone Marathwada and Vidarbha, both Bharatiya Janata Party strongholds.

Meanwhile, officials expect the 181-kilometre phase-2 length between Shirdi and Mumbai, which finishes in Thane's Vadpe, to be completed within the next year. As this route will be used by commercial vehicles travelling from Nagpur to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the 23.5-kilometre Mumbai-Nashik highway (NH 3) between Vadpe and Majiwada in Thane will also be reworked. 

Samruddhi Mahamarg, when completed, will cut the travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai by nearly six hours. To reach Nagpur, travel 800 kilometres on NH 3 (Mumbai-Dhule) and NH 6 (Dhule-Nagpur).

The Samruddhi Mahamarg Highway project in Maharashtra has cost more than Rs 55,000 crore. The highway will feature 24 interchanges, 38 bridges over 30 metres, and 283 bridges shorter than 30 metres.

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• Balasaheb Thackeray
• Devendra Fadnavis
• Eknath Shinde
• Narendra Modi
• Samruddhi Mahamarg