A new greenfield high-speed corridor will be constructed between Maharashtra's second capital, Nagpur, and Hyderabad. Due to the constant increase in traffic on the existing four-lane National Highway No. 44 from Nagpur to Hyderabad, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Nagpur Region, plans to commence a feasibility survey for a new expressway soon.
The Nagpur-Hyderabad Expressway will serve as the first phase of the proposed Nagpur-Bengaluru Expressway project. The entire Nagpur-Bengaluru Expressway will span 1,100 kilometers, with the Nagpur-Hyderabad segment covering 450 kilometers. This new expressway will be 30 kilometers shorter than the existing NH 44, which connects the two cities over 480 kilometers. Currently, it takes about 8 hours to travel from Nagpur to Hyderabad via NH 44, but the new expressway is expected to reduce this travel time to 5 hours.
The new expressway will have a maximum speed limit of 120 km/h and will be a six-lane route. It will feature a completely new alignment, necessitating land acquisition.
R.P. Singh, Regional Officer of NHAI, Nagpur, told *Lokmat Times* that the feasibility survey for the Nagpur-Hyderabad Expressway will commence soon. "A detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared after the survey," he said, adding that the proposed route will be straight in most places. "It will be designed for high-speed travel, allowing the distance from Nagpur to Hyderabad to be covered in 5 hours through this route," he maintained.