Samruddhi Expressway Construction Mishap: Here's How & When The Girder Collapsed In Thane's Shahapur That Claimed 17 Lives

The girder machine collapse in Thane's Shahapur on Samruddhi Mahamarg or Expressway which resulted in the death of 17 people and injured several workers on Tuesday (August 1) morning shocked one and all and also raised questions on the safety measures at the construction site on the Samruddhi Mahamarg. Speaking on the incident, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said that Rs 5 lakhs ex-gratia will be given to the next of kin of the deceased. The Maharashtra Chief Minister also the mishap an unfortunate incident and informed that a company based in Switzerland was working on the project and that instructions have been given for thorough investigation.

Developers on the stretch

FPJ has learnt that the stretch on which the mishap took place on Tuesday morning on the Samruddhi Expressway is being developed by contractors Navayuga Engineering Company and that the Authority Engineers Consultant are M/s. Intercontinental Consultants & Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. J/v with Yuksel Proje Uluslararasi A.S. In Association with Streamline Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. The contract length is that of 37 kms.

This is how the mishap took place that claimed 17 lives

Work on the remaining 101 km stretch (out of total 701 kms) of the Expressway is underway in Nashik and Thane districts. About 2.28 km long viaduct bridge construction is in progress at Sarlambe in Shahapur. The construction of this bridge is being done by Navayuga Engineering Company VSL India Pvt. Ltd.

The automatic launcher of this company is being used and its weight is 700 tons. The company has successfully completed the construction of 98 out of 114 blocks through this automatic launcher. However, on 31st July 2023 at 11.30 pm while moving the launching girder to prepare for next day's work, the crane (segment launcher) with the completed girder fell from a height of 35 metres and suddenly collapsed. 10 workers, two supervisors and five staff members (total of 17 people) died in the mishap.

Samruddhi Mahamarg project

The Samruddhi Mahamarg or Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway Project (Phase-I) is a major connectivity and infrastructure project in recent times in Maharashtra. Inaugurated at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022, the 701 Km expressway, built at a cost of about Rs 55,000 crore - is one of India's longest expressways, passing through Maharashtra’s 10 districts and prominent urban regions of Amravati, Aurangabad and Nashik.

The expressway will also help improve the connectivity of adjoining 14 other districts, thus helping in the development of about 24 districts of the state including the regions of Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra. Around 600 km of the expressway is operational and the last phase is expected to become operational by December 2023.