The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has embarked on an ambitious project to create a grid of expressways adding up to more than 5,300 km.
To create this grand network, the state recently initiated paperwork as the first step. “Work has commenced to study all the projects and prepare a detailed project report,” an MSRDC official told The Free Press Journal. “As the size of the project is enormous, it will take a few months to put it together."
The big-ticket project comprises 16 different projects (see box), including the Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Nagpur expressways.
Maharashtra currently has a total of 17,725 km of National Highways and 32,423 km of state highways, but only 94 km of expressway between Mumbai and Pune.
The difference between a highway and an expressway is that highways have multiple entries and exits whereas expressways are access controlled and designed for high-speed traffic.
The project report will ascertain the total capital expenditure needed to create the grand network and the finance options that can be tapped.
The Government’s plan is to connect all 36 districts of Maharashtra, over the next two decades, through expressways. Besides improving connectivity between regions, such grand infrastructure projects spur economic activity. They also help create more urban and semi-urban centres, thereby creating employment opportunities.
Most of the expressways will be greenfield projects because widening existing highways is more expensive given the cost of acquiring land from established commercial and residential spaces. The Mumbai-Nagpur expressway is a case in point.
The Network
Mumbai-Nashik-Aurangabad-Nagpur: 700km
Mumbai-Pune: 95km
Jalna-Parbhani-Hingoli-Nanded: 200km
Nagpur-Bhandara-Gondia: 150km
Pune-Ahmednagar-Aurangabad: 240km
Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg: 500km
Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded-Latur-Osmanabad-Solapur-Sangli-Kolhapur: 850km
Sinnar-Dhule-Jalgaon: 250km
Pune-Solapur: 230km
Pune-Satara-Sangli-Kolhapur: 230km
Aurangabad-Jalgaon: 165km
Jalgaon-Buldhana-Akola-Amravati-Nagpur: 450km
Nagpur-Chandrapur: 140km
Pune-Ahmednagar-Beed-Parbhani-Nanded: 470km
Dhule-Nandurbar (upto Visarwadi)-Surat: 115km
Palghar-Mumbai: 100km
