The 701-km long Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Mumbai and Nagpur may soon see extension up to Gondia and Gadchiroli as the nodal agency developing the country’s longest speed highway has initiated its preliminary process. In an exclusive interview, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of MSRDC Radheshyam Mopalwar told The Hitavada that the agency will invite tenders from interested parties for preparation of DPR (detailed project report) of the stretches from Nagpur to Gondia and Nagpur to Gadchiroli. “We will float tenders for the DPR within a day or two,” he said, adding that the report would help understand various parameters of the extended work. Right now the expressway, named as ‘Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg’, is a six-lane access-controlled road between Shivmadka village in Nagpur district and Amne village in Thane district.

 

However, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is now planning to connect the two remote districts with Mumbai. When asked to share further details, the Vice-Chairman of MSRDC refused to comment saying that a clear picture would emerge only after the report was prepared. It is important to note that the report will be placed before the Maharashtra State Cabinet for final approval and the possibility of further modification in the proposed extension work cannot be ruled out.

 

As of now the under construction expressway is passing through 10 districts of the State including Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Jalna, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane. But with the proposed extension, districts like Gondia, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli will also become part of the prestigious project which is expected to bring prosperity to the region. Commenting on the current status of the project, he said that the patch between Nagpur and Shirdi was nearing completion. “We are going as per the schedule and hope to make available all the basic and emergency services on the Nagpur-Shirdi patch by December end. Besides, the work on the Shirdi to Thane patch is also going on in full swing,” he said.