A day after the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) announced the inauguration date of the much-awaited Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, it has come to light that the project has hit another roadblock hampering its commencement.
The opening of the first phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway was slated for May 2. Under this, a 201-km stretch between Nagpur and Shelu Bazar in Washim, was set to be thrown open to the public.
With this, it is the second time that the launch of 210 km stretch between Nagpur and Shelu Bazaar has been affected. Previously the opening of the expressway was delayed due to pandemic induced lockdown leading to no sufficient manpower to finish the work on target deadline.
The inauguration has been delayed by the damage to a wildlife overpass. Now, it is expected to open in over a month or nearly 45 days.
Explaining further the reason for the delay, MSRDC official stated that the arch strips in one of the wildlife overpasses have been damaged, for which at least 45 days are required to fix the structure. It is expected to be over by the end of June.
There are a total of 105 arch strips.
The damage was reported due to an accident involving a crane on the construction site in which no injuries were reported, the official added.
The 700-km-long expressway between Mumbai and Nagpur has a total of eight wildlife overpasses and 22 wildlife underpasses. The expressway passes via Bor Tiger Reserve and several other environmentally sensitive zones. The accident took place 15-km from the starting point at Nagpur.
The officials claimed that experts have taken a reviewed of the damage and a decision is being taken to remake and redesign the structure.
Hence, MSRDC is now planning to open the first and second phases together by August. This essentially means the Nagpur to Shirdi stretch will open by August.
The officials added that the target to open the entire stretch between Nagpur and Mumbai by December 2022, however, due to several delays including COVID-19 pandemic, the entire stretch may be opened by mid-2023.
For those unversed, it will be the first green highway with the facility of a helipad for air ambulance.
Read More: Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway: India’s First Highway With 9 Green Bridges
It will be officially called Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg. Overall there are 76 underpasses on the highway. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is carrying out the project at a cost of over INR 55,000 crores.
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