Interchange to be built on 4.5 hectares
Aurangabad, May 19:
The connectivity issue of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) to Samruddhi Expressway that was in limbo for the past one and half year has been resolved. The MSRDC officials on Thursday surveyed the land and took possession. Work on the Shendra interchange will start from Friday. The interchange will be completed in three to four months, officials said.
The interchange will be constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on 4.5 hectares of land along the Samruddhi expressway. In January 2021, MIDC approved Rs 41.14 crore to the MSRDC for the construction of the interchange.
The work of Shendra interchange will be done through the existing contractor of Samruddhi expressway ‘Mega Engineering’. However, MIDC will have to construct a 900-metre long access road from the Shendra industrial belt of the DMIC. About four and a half hectares of land has also been acquired for the road. In this regard, Rajesh Joshi, regional officer, MIDC, said that with the cooperation of farmers, the issue of land acquisition for Samruddhi-DMIC connectivity has been resolved. The land has been handed over to the MSRDC for further action.
No hindrance to the traffic
The construction work of Shendra interchange will not cause any hindrance to the traffic on the expressway. However, DMIC will start operation on Samruddhi only after the completion of the interchange and MIDC access road. The 112 km long Samruddhi expressway passes through the district and will have a total of five interchanges. The government will announce the exact date of opening of the expressway. Currently, the work of the expressway in the district has been completed and it is awaiting inauguration. Work on the underpass (Aurangabad-Sillod) road near Sawangi interchange will be completed by the end of June, said BP Salunke, chief engineer, MSRDC.