At present, travellers from the Samruddhi Highway often face significant congestion in the Bhiwandi and Thane areas. The drive from Amne to Thane now takes about one and a half to two hours. Similarly, vehicles from Thane to Mumbai also experience congestion. Keeping this in view, the MMRDA has now decided to extend the Eastern Freeway from Chhedanagar to Anandnagar.
In addition to this, an elevated road from Anandnagar to Saket is also under construction. These projects are set to make future travel from Saket to Mumbai more efficient and bring significant relief.
The road connecting Chhedanagar and Anandnagar will be 40 meters wide and have six lanes, costing over ₹ 2,683 crore, according to a News18 report. The elevated route from Anandnagar to Saket will be 40 m wide and include six lanes, costing ₹ 1,874 crore.
With a length of 701 km, the Samruddhi Expressway, officially known as the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is an access-controlled greenfield corridor that connects Amane (near Mumbai) to Shivmadka (Nagpur).
The 701-kilometre route connects Nagpur, Wardha, Aurangabad, Nashik, Kalyan, and Mumbai in Maharashtra. It has six lanes (which can be expanded to eight) and runs through ten districts, with 24 interchanges, 65 flyovers, tunnels, and numerous underpasses.
The entire 701-kilometre Samruddhi Mahamarg is now fully operational. The final 76-kilometre stretch (Igatpuri to Amane) was inaugurated on June 5, completing the entire route.
The first 520-kilometre segment from Nagpur to Shirdi was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11, 2022. The second 80-kilometre stretch located between Shirdi (Kokanmathan) in Ahmednagar district and Bharvir Dhantore in Nashik district was opened by the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on May 26, 2023.
The third 25-kilometre section from Bharvir Dhantore to Hutatma Point was launched in May 2024 by Public Works Minister Dada Bhuse.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
