The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has confirmed that the final stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg from Igatpuri to Amane will only open once all construction is complete. The last section was expected to open by September or October, but that deadline has been delayed.
This section includes an 84-meter-tall Shahpur bridge, which is still under construction. Reports suggest that the construction will be completed by November. MSRDC is collaborating with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the project.
In a report by Indian Express, Anil Kumar Gaikwad, vice chairman and managing director of MSRDC, stated that the opening is delayed due to ongoing work on a 1-km road stretch. This road connects Amane to the Sangrilla Resort on the old Mumbai-Nashik Highway.
The work is part of a 4.5-km road project from the Vadodara-Mumbai Motorway. This section will also connect to JNPT Road. While 3.5 km of the road is finished, the remaining 1 km still requires dismantling warehouses and godowns, which is causing delays. This part of the construction will take more time.
Once completed, the 76-kilometre stretch of the expressway will reduce travel time between Igatpuri and Amane. The journey currently takes over 90 minutes. It will be cut down to around 40 minutes on this road. So far, 625 km of the 701 km expressway is operational. The remaining portion will further reduce the travel time between Nagpur and Amane in Thane to about eight hours, compared to the previous 16 hours.
Currently, drivers can access 625 km of the Samruddhi Mahamarg from Nagpur to Mumbai. The first phase, covering 520 km between Nagpur and Shirdi, opened in December 2022. The second phase, a 105-km stretch from Shirdi to Bharvir, opened in May 2023. The extension to Igatpuri was completed in March 2024
Only the last 76 km between Igatpuri and Amane and a 4-km section from Amane to Vadape remain unfinished. Construction was also dependent on dry weather conditions, as the cement-concrete mix needs time.
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