Mumbai: The Samruddhi Highway, which has reduced the distance between Nagpur and Mumbai, has set a new record for fast traffic. In the last 16 months since its inauguration, 82 lakh vehicles have traveled on the highway and 6.76 lakh vehicles (an average of 20,000 to 25,000 per day) are plying on the highway every month. This has generated a revenue of Rs 631 crore in the coffers of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which is the implementing agency of the project.
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The 625-km long stretch of the 701-km-long Samruddhi Highway has been extended to commuters. The first phase of the 520-km stretch from Nagpur to Shirdi was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022. Then, last year, the journey to Igatpuri began.
Rising traffic graphSince its inauguration in December 2022, 220,000 vehicles have taken advantage of the expressway every month. It had collected a revenue of Rs 13.17 crore in the government's coffers. In August 2023, 5 lakh vehicles travelled on this highway. In December 2023, for the first time, vehicles crossed the 7 lakh mark and a total of 7.40 lakh vehicles travelled on this route. This generated a revenue of Rs 54.38 crore in the MSRDC coffers.
After the Mumbai connection...At present, the highway does not have connectivity to Mumbai and the expected passenger traffic has not increased. However, the agencies claim that the traffic will increase once the connection with Mumbai is achieved. It is also expected that the movement of agricultural produce will increase as the distance between Mumbai and Nagpur becomes closer. Meanwhile, it will take a few more years to boost the growth of industries in the area along the Samruddhi Highway. After that, the number of vehicles will increase further.